Boy names that start with R
R is a letter of rulers and red hair: the Germanic names below are built on ric, power, while the Irish ones lean on rua, red. Roman is the highest-placed R name in the United States right now, with Rowan not far behind. Every entry links to a full page with meaning, origin, and pairings.
Most popular R names right now
Four R names sit inside the current U.S. Social Security top 100. These are their real positions.
- #42RomanROH-munLatin
Of Rome; a Roman. The adjective became a given name in the Slavic world long before America took it up.
- #59RowanROH-unIrish
Little red one, and also the rowan tree. It works as an Irish surname name and a nature name at once.
- #92RobertROB-ertGermanic
Bright fame. Kings of Scotland and France carried it, and it has held a place in the American top 100 for well over a century.
- #99RyanRY-unIrish
Traditionally glossed as little king. An Irish surname that turned into a first name in the mid-twentieth century and never left.
Classic R names
- RichardRICH-erdGermanic
Strong ruler; brave in power. Three English kings bore it, and Rick, Ritchie and Dick all descend from it.
- RaymondRAY-mundGermanic
Counsel and protection: the wise protector. A mid-century staple now well outside the current U.S. top 100.
- RalphRALFEnglish
A wolf compound, joining wolf to counsel or fame. Ralph Waldo Emerson lends it a study-and-lamplight weight.
- RogerROJ-erGermanic
Famous spear. The Normans brought it to England, and radio operators later borrowed it to mean received.
- ReubenROO-bunHebrew
Traditionally glossed as behold, a son. Jacob's firstborn and the head of one of the twelve tribes.
- RolandROH-lundGermanic
Renowned throughout the land. The hero of the Chanson de Roland, the oldest surviving major work of French literature.
- RupertROO-pertGermanic
Bright with fame, and the German cousin of Robert. Prince Rupert of the Rhine carried it into English use.
- Rafaelrah-fah-ELHebrew
God has healed. The archangel of healing, and the Renaissance painter who decorated the Vatican rooms.
- RexREKSLatin
King, taken straight from Latin with nothing added. Three letters, one syllable, and a meaning that needs no explaining.
Irish and Welsh R names
- RonanROH-nanIrish
Little seal, from ron. Several early Irish saints carried it before it became a modern favourite.
- RoryROR-eeIrish
Red king. Ruaidri Ua Conchobair, the last high king of Ireland, is the Rory history remembers.
- RuairiROR-eeIrish
Red king again, in the Irish spelling that Rory anglicises.
- RileyRY-leeIrish
Two sources feed it: an Irish family name, and an English place name meaning a rye clearing.
- RhysREESWelsh
Traditionally glossed as ardour or enthusiasm. Borne by medieval Welsh princes; Reece is the phonetic respelling.
- RhodriROD-reeWelsh
Traditionally read as wheel-ruler, from rhod and rhi. Rhodri the Great ruled most of Wales in the ninth century.
R names from around the world
- Rodrigoroh-DREE-gohSpanish
Famous ruler; glory joined to rule. El Cid was born Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar.
- Riccardoreek-KAR-doItalian
Strong ruler, brave in power. The Italian Richard, with the stress pulled to the middle.
- RaviRAH-veeSanskrit
The sun. The sitarist Ravi Shankar made it familiar far outside India.
- Rashidrah-SHEEDArabic
Rightly guided; of sound judgement. Al-Rashid is one of the traditional names of God in Islam.
- Raminrah-MEENPersian
Joyful, at peace, and the lover in Vis and Ramin, the oldest surviving Persian romance.
- RenRENJapanese
The lotus, the flower that comes up clean out of muddy water. A perennial favourite for boys in Japan.
- Ruslanroos-LAHNRussian
Lion, from the Turkic arslan rather than anything Slavic. Pushkin's Ruslan and Lyudmila fixed it in Russian.
- RasmusRAHS-mussDanish
Beloved. A Scandinavian short form of Erasmus that long ago went its own way.
- RadekRAH-dekCzech
Glad, willing. Built on the Slavic root rad, the same element behind Radoslaw.
- RotimiROH-tee-meeYoruba
Stay with me. It is a request addressed to the child, not a description of him.
Unique R names
- RagnarRAHG-narNorse
Warrior of the gods. Ragnar Lodbrok is the legendary Viking the sagas keep returning to.
- RuneROO-nehNorwegian
Secret; hidden lore. The same word as the runic letters carved on Scandinavian stones.
- RavnROWNDanish
Raven. The bird's name, used unaltered, with all the Norse weight that implies.
- RamsesRAM-seezAncient Egyptian
Ra has fashioned him. Ramses II held the throne of Egypt for sixty-six years.
- Rostamross-TAMPersian
Mighty of stature; the strong-grown one. The central hero of the Shahnameh.
- RishiRISH-eeSanskrit
A seer, and specifically one of the sages who received the Vedic hymns.
- RidgeRIJEnglish
A long crest of high ground. A landscape word with a hard consonant at each end.
- RiverRIV-erEnglish
A river; the noun, used as a name. The plainest of the nature words and one of the most usable.
- RemyREH-meeFrench
Traditionally read as oarsman. Saint Remigius baptised Clovis, the first Christian king of the Franks.
- RoccoROK-koItalian
Uncertain, from a Germanic root that has been read several ways. Saint Rocco is invoked against plague.