by Ray Cook

Created on: January 23, 2008

ETYMOLOGY

Although predominantly a boy's name, Ryan can also be a girl's name.
Ryan is of ancient Irish Gaelic origin. The meaning of Ryan is little king" from the root "ri" or "righ" plus the diminutive ending "-an"

ORIGIN & HISTORY

Ryan is derived from the ancient Irish Gaelic surname, Riain, meaning " descendant, or son of, Riain. Riain itself is a contracted form of Maolriain (English form, Mulryan), a surname which is now very rare. Over time the Ryans came to outnumber the Mulryans and even in the census of 1659 in Co. Limerick, there were about four times as many Ryans as O'Mulryans. The name came from the borders of Limerick and Tipperary and first appears in the 14th century.

Another group of Ryans came from the area in and around Co. Carlow, Leinster. This group was never known as O'Mulryan, so they might be regarded as the true original Ryans.

Not many records of Ryans exist before the 17th century when Cornelius O'Mulryan is mentioned as being a Franciscan friar.

Ryans gradually spread across the globe following the paths of British and Irish migration to the New World and Australasia.

POPULARITY

In 2006 Ryan was ranked the 14th most popular boy's name by the SSA. For a girl it was ranked only 455th.

Before the 1970's , Ryan was virtually unknown as a girl's name and it didn't reach the top 1000 most popular boy's names until the 1950's. From the early 1970's it saw a sudden leap in popularity and has remained in the top 30 ever since.

What accounts for this sudden rise? It is highly likely that one person was responsible: the actor Ryan O'Neal. In the 1960's he shot to stardom in the TV series Peyton Place and made Ryan a household name and associated it with attractive but edgy youthfulness.
Incidentally, Ryan is amongst the 10 most numerous surnames in Ireland .

FASCINATING FACTS

The Ryan family motto is "Malo mori quam feodari", ( I would rather die than be disgraced).
Charles Lindbergh's airplane, The Spirit of St Louis, which he flew across the Atlantic in 1927, was built in the USA by Ryan Aviation.
The Victoria Cross, Britain's highest military medal for Valour' has been awarded to three different John Ryan's: in 1857, 1863 and 1918.

NAMESAKES

Ryan, Iowa is a city in Delaware County

Ryan, Oklahoma is a small town in Jefferson County where actor Chuck Norris was born.

Ryan (2004), is an Oscar-winning animated documentary about the Canadian animator Ryan Larkin

Ryan's Daughter (1970) an award winning film by British director David Lean for which Sarah Miles won

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