| Ryu | Kenta | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | dragon | Healthy and big |
| Origin | japanese | Japanese |
| Gender | Boy | Boy |
| Pronunciation | ryoo | KEN-tah |
| Syllables | 1 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1985 | 1973 |
| Peak year | 2012 (130) | 1977 (48) |
| In 2025 | 59 | 7 |
| Trend | Steady | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Ryu | Kenta |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 483 | 29 |
| 2010s | 741 | 98 |
| 2000s | 372 | 155 |
| 1990s | 77 | 216 |
| 1980s | 12 | 120 |
| 1970s | 0 | 93 |
From Japanese 龍 / 竜 (ryuu) 'dragon'. Hedge: more often a dragon-bearing element within compound names than a standalone given name, and the same sound is written with other kanji meaning 'noble/prosperous' (隆), 'flow' (流) or 'lapis lazuli' (琉); the dragon meaning applies to the 龍/竜 spelling. Romanized Ryu or Ryuu (the macron/double-u marks a long vowel).
Kenta joins the kanji for “healthy, strong” with “thick” or “big.”
Ryu is more popular than Kenta today: about 59 US babies were given the name Ryu in 2025, compared with 7 named Kenta.
Ryu means dragon (japanese origin), while Kenta means Healthy and big (Japanese origin).
In US records, Ryu first appears in 1985 and Kenta in 1973, so Kenta has the longer recorded history.