Fun Facts About the Name Riplee
- 101 babies named Riplee: U.S. records list 101 babies given the name Riplee from 1880 through 2025. Even 39 boys received the name Riplee - about 1 boy for every 2 girls.
What Does the Name Riplee Mean?
Ripley, from which Riplee is a respelling, is an English name of Old English origin - Old English being the Germanic language spoken in England before the Norman Conquest. It is made of two elements. The second is lēah, meaning "woodland clearing," "glade," or "meadow," a common ending in English place names. The first element is a short, rare word that most references identify with an Old English personal name or byname, Hrype. On that reading the name means "Hrype's clearing" or "clearing belonging to Hrype." Because the first element survives almost only in place names, its exact sense is not settled, and some accounts treat it as a descriptive word for a strip or edge of land rather than a personal name. The doubled e in Riplee is a modern spelling change only; it does not alter the origin or the meaning.
Riplee Name History & Origins
Ripley first existed as an English place name, and more than one village in England carries it. Ripley in Derbyshire is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as Ripelia, and there are also places called Ripley in Surrey and in North Yorkshire, both of which appear in medieval records. In the centuries after the Norman Conquest, English families who lived at or moved away from such a place commonly took its name as a surname, and place-derived surnames of this kind became hereditary by the later Middle Ages. Almost all early use of Ripley is of this surname type.
Ripley as a first name is a much later development from that surname, and the spelling Riplee is later still - a respelling in the modern habit of reworking surnames into given names. The name became widely familiar through two twentieth-century fictional characters: Tom Ripley, the central figure of Patricia Highsmith's novel The Talented Mr. Ripley (1955) and its sequels, and Ellen Ripley, the lead character in the film Alien (1979). These are literary and cinematic associations attached to an already existing surname; they are not the source of the name.
How Popular is the Name Riplee?
Riplee has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #7,150 in 2024.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #7,823 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 2024 | #13,144 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2023 | #14,810 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2022 | #8,425 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 2021 | #14,900 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2020 | #14,762 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 2016 | #18,311 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 2015 | #18,572 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #9,524 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 2024 | #7,150 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 2022 | #10,619 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 2021 | #11,833 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2020 | #11,712 | 6 | 0.0003% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Riplee Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Riplee's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Riplee's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.