Meaning and history
Rhiannon is probably derived from the unattested Celtic name *Rīgantonā, meaning “great queen,” from Celtic *rīganī “queen” and the divine or augmentative suffix -on. It has been speculated that Rigantona was an old Celtic goddess, perhaps linked to fertility and horses like the Gaulish Epona. In Welsh legend, as Rhiannon in the Mabinogi, she is a beautiful magical woman who rides a white horse, was betrothed against her will to Gwawl, then cleverly ended that engagement and married Pwyll, with whom she had their son Pryderi. As an English name, it became popular after Fleetwood Mac’s 1976 song “Rhiannon,” especially in the United Kingdom and Australia.
20062006: 378 births, rank #739
2007: 289 births, rank #934
2008: 250 births, rank #1,045
2009: 204 births, rank #1,218
2010: 161 births, rank #1,420
20112011: 156 births, rank #1,446
2012: 128 births, rank #1,663
2013: 106 births, rank #1,888
2014: 134 births, rank #1,602
2015: 120 births, rank #1,743
20162016: 142 births, rank #1,567
2017: 158 births, rank #1,436
2018: 150 births, rank #1,461
2019: 189 births, rank #1,239
2020: 204 births, rank #1,156
20212021: 224 births, rank #1,103
2022: 219 births, rank #1,120
2023: 210 births, rank #1,154
2024: 178 births, rank #1,296
20252025: 210 births, rank #1,119
Rhiannon moved from #740 to #935 for girls between 2006 and 2007. Its highest annual birth count came in 1999, with 651 births.