| Carys | Rhiannon | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Love | great queen |
| Origin | welsh | welsh |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | KA-ris | ree-AN-un |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1991 | 1974 |
| Peak year | 2006 (196) | 1999 (651) |
| In 2025 | 32 | 210 |
| Trend | Declining | Steady |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Carys | Rhiannon |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 189 | 1,245 |
| 2010s | 933 | 1,444 |
| 2000s | 1,123 | 4,075 |
| 1990s | 82 | 3,833 |
| 1980s | 0 | 3,276 |
| 1970s | 0 | 1,666 |
A modern Welsh name formed from the stem of the verb caru 'to love' (compare car 'beloved friend', cariad 'love'). A genuine Welsh 'love' root; the variant Cerys is read the same way.
Thought to derive from the reconstructed Celtic 'Rigantona', meaning 'great queen' (from the root 'rigani', queen). A figure of sovereignty in the Welsh Mabinogi. The reconstruction is scholarly, so the 'great queen' sense is widely accepted but not attested directly.
Rhiannon is more popular than Carys today: about 210 US babies were given the name Rhiannon in 2025, compared with 32 named Carys.
Carys means Love (welsh origin), while Rhiannon means great queen (welsh origin).
In US records, Carys first appears in 1991 and Rhiannon in 1974, so Rhiannon has the longer recorded history.