Given name & surname
Ryo
“an excellent woman”
Ryo is used as a given name and a surname. One Japanese interpretation is “an excellent woman.”
Original Japanese呂
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Japanese interpretation is “an excellent woman.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Japanese.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1975. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Ryo through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 827
- 827 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 61 babies
- 2025
- 49
- #2,673 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +116%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 49 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,673 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 116.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (9). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 994 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Ryo’s family of names
Ryo has a related form in Rio. Ryo has a related form in Ryoko. In Japanese usage, Ryo as a surname is a Roman-alphabet rendering of 呂.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
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