Rihanna

ree-AN-ah; rie-HA-nah

Arabic

"sweet basil"

Rihanna Origin and Meaning

The name Rihanna is a girl's name meaning "sweet basil".

Many will associate Rihanna with the Barbados-born singer, known mononymously by her middle name. During her early years of fame, when "Umbrella" was on the radio and "Take a Bow" was playing through the iPod Shuffle, the name shot up the charts in the US, UK, France, and Puerto Rico. Though the name did fall out of the charts as rapidly as it entered and while some parents might feel it is way too tied to the mid-2000s, Rihanna was given to 165 babies in 2023.

Rihanna isn't simply a music-inspired choice, however; it's an Arabic name, deriving from Rayhana, meaning "basil". Like Aaliyah and Leila, it is used cross-culturally, with several spelling variations cropping up, including Rihana, Rianna, Reanna, and Rhianna - though they may also be boosted up by their similarity to Welsh Rhiannon.

With its nature-inspired meaning and its sweet but strong sound, Rihanna could easily work on a baby born today.

Rihanna Rank in US Top 1000

# 955 in the US

Rihanna Popularity

• 1313 Nameberry 2023
• 364 Unique 2023
• 913 England 2016

20 Names Similar to Rihanna

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Rihanna.

• Rhianna
• Zabrina
• Gaela
• Lava
• Sundance
• Skylee
• Gauge
• Ciannait
• Elenor
• Solaris
• Hania
• Hani
• Zina
• Lela
• Tyra
• Skylynn
• Ayesha
• Daxon
• Bingham
• Ashtyn

Famous People Named Rihanna

• (Robyn) Rihanna (Fenty) Barbadian singer,songwriter and actress