Ryan (given name) in 2005–2007. "Ryan" as a male given name has persisted in popularity for the thirty-year period of 1976–2006 in the 10th to 20th rank; the name appeared in the top thousand for the first time in 1946 and gained steadily in popularity until leveling off in the 1970s. Its ascendency in the U.S. has been traced, in part, to its use by American actor Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal who used the stage name Ryan O'Neal in the popular series "Peyton Place" from 1964 to 1969. "Ryan" gained popularity as a given name for girls in the 1970s. It first appeared
Ryan (given name) Ryan (given name) Ryan is an English-language given name of Irish origin. It is primarily a male name. It comes from the Irish surname "Ryan". See Ryan (surname) for more information about the origins of the name. Popular sources typically suggest that "Ryan" means "little king" or "illustrious", although the original meaning of the name is obscure. For Ireland, information is available for 2005 and 2006, which shows a popularity rank of 10th and 14th, respectively, for use of "Ryan" as a male given name for newborn children. In Scotland of the 1990s, "Ryan" was the most popular forename for