The Riley surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 133,872 people carried this name — #217 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,200 people counted. That is up 5% from 127,960 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Riley surname
A surname from Irish of Irish origin, a variant of Reilly.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Riley» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
60 people named Riley live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Fribourg.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 44 people named Riley.
Most of them — 35 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Pyrénées-Atlantiques.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
29 people named Riley have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 67 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 7 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 28 people named Riley live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
64 people named Riley is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
Among the farmers of England and Wales, 1880s
Riley was found among the farmers of 7 counties.
It was most frequent in Warwickshire: 55 in every 10,000 farmers there — about 1 in 182. Guppy counted the farmers listed in each county’s directory and recorded a name only where it reached about 7 in every 10,000; where it does not appear, it was rarer than that, not absent.
Where it concentrates, on the mapPer 10,000 farmers, by county
H. B. Guppy, «Homes of Family Names in Great Britain» (London, 1890), alphabetical list of English and Welsh names — public domain · farmers in Kelly’s Post Office Directories of the 1880s, per 10,000 farmers in each county.
In Scotland’s registers today
Riley was recorded 44 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.
That made it the 591st most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 52. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.
National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the first U.S. census, 1790
170 families named Riley, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.
Each family is counted by its head. About 857 people lived in those households, 5 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 19 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.
Families, by state
U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 259 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.
In print
Riley in American newspapers,
1881–1902.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 786,451 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Riley in Australian newspapers,
1800s–2010s.
126,671 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Riley. The most, 21,978, date from the 1920s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in New South Wales, at 1.3 times its expected share.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Riley.
Who carried it
People named Riley,
with a public archive behind them.
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John Riley 1646–1691 · painter -
Maggie Riley d. 2015 · actor
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Fred Riley d. 1966 · painter
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David Riley d. 1901 · politician
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Matilda Georgiana Riley d. 1900
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Alan Riley d. 1974
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Riley,
in the records of 7 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States17,683 records
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 4,509
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 3,993
- Other U.S. records 9,181
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Howard George RileyBorn 1942; from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. U.S. Army, infantryman; killed in action 1965 in South Vietnam. Buried at Beverly National Cemetery, New Jersey.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Joyce C. RileyBorn 1920 in Louisiana. Enlisted 1944 in the Women's Army Corps at San Antonio, Texas; office machine operator. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1983, buried at Biloxi National Cemetery, Mississippi.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Margaret RileyArrived at New York in 1836 aboard the Emulous from Liverpool, aged 18; laborer. From Kings County, Ireland; bound for New York.
U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
Showing 3 of 17,683 records for Riley in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · New York State, Open NY (police and firefighter memorial rolls). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Australia4,674 records
- Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 2,000
- Tasmanian Names Index 1,465
- Other Australian records 1,209
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Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record Bridget RileyTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Emma Eugenia, sailing from London in 1843. Native of Birmingham, Warwickshire. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Pictured: convicts going on board a prison ship, 1829 Transportation record James RileyTransported to Van Diemen's Land aboard the Susan, sailing from London in 1837. Native of London, Middlesex. Applied for permission to marry in Van Diemen's Land in 1847. Married 1847 in Hobart, Tasmania, aged 23.
Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Edward RileyArrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Ballengiech, aged 49; English.
Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 4,674 records for Riley in Australia.
Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection (CC BY) · State Library of Western Australia (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · ACT Government, Transport Canberra and City Services (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Prison-ship in Portsmouth Harbour, with the convicts going on board, etching by Edward William Cooke, 1829, Royal Museums Greenwich (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).
Canada916 records
- Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 666
- Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 57
- Other Canadian records 193
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Example: passenger manifest, 1903 Passenger record Lawrence RileyCame to Ontario in 1879 aboard the Phoenecian, landing at Quebec, bound for Woodstock, Ontario; Scotch.
Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. -
Example: civil register, 1880 Civil record John RileyKilled in 1917 at the Florence Mine, Nova Scotia.
Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. -
Example: Canadian cemetery Burial record Lillian Ann RileyBuried in 1985 at Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia, aged 47.
Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax.
Showing 3 of 916 records for Riley in Canada.
Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · Archives of Ontario. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Ontario. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. · Halifax Regional Municipality. Contains information licenced under the Open Government Licence—Halifax. · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · City of Niagara Falls. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Niagara Falls. · Contains information provided by the City of Waterloo under licence. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).
United Kingdom202 records
- War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 168
- St James's burial ground, Euston (London), 1789–1853 27
- Other British records 7
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Mary McKinnon RileyDied 1959, aged 84; buried at Dunblane Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.
Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. -
Example: probate petition, 1848 Probate record Elizabeth RileyWill proved in 1929; of Rochdale, Lancaster.
National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) -
Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919 War record W. RileyCheshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1919.
National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
Showing 3 of 202 records for Riley in the United Kingdom.
Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · MOLA and HS2, St James's burial ground data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. · National Library of Wales, Wills Index Cards (CC0) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).
New Zealand60 records
- Christchurch City cemetery records 32
- Thames-Coromandel District cemetery records 17
- Other New Zealand records 11
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Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record John Joseph RileyDied 1910, aged 60; buried at Linwood Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.
Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Catherine RileyBuried in 1871 at Shortland Cemetery, Thames-Coromandel District, Waikato, aged 30.
Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: burial register, 1858 Burial record Carl RileyDied 1978, aged 89; buried at Fairhall Cemetery, Marlborough.
Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 60 records for Riley in New Zealand.
Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0) · Thames-Coromandel District Council (CC BY 4.0) · Marlborough District Council (CC BY 4.0) · National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).
France12 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Bernard Harry RileyBorn 1905 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Calais (Pas-de-Calais).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Audrey Vera RileyBorn 1930 in Great Britain; died 1996 in Montpellier (Hérault).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 2 of 12 records for Riley in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Netherlands3 records
- Dutch population registers 2
- Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
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Example: marriage register, 1911 Marriage record Joseph RileyMarried in 1945 in Nijmegen; driver.
Open Archives, Gelders Archief (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 1 of 3 records for Riley in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Riley.
- Rigoni 438 · U.S. census
- Rigot 173 · U.S. census
- Rigotti 196 · U.S. census
- Rigoulot 127 · U.S. census
- Rigsby 7,124 · U.S. census
- Rihn 488 · U.S. census
- Rima 558 · U.S. census
- Rimbert 159 · U.S. census
- Rime 149 · U.S. census
- Rimlinger 124 · U.S. census
- Rinaldi 7,756 · U.S. census
- Rinaldo 1,052 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Riley is.
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