Rigby vs Rigel
American parents have registered 642 Rigels since 1880, against 516 Rigbys. But in 2025 it was Rigby that was commoner, 36 babies to 19.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Rigby Rigel
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Of the 47 years in which either name was published, Rigel for 33 years and Rigby for 14 years. The lead changed hands 7 times.
Side by side
| Rigby | Rigel | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 516 | 642 |
| Most in one year | 41 | 34 |
| Babies in 2025 | 36 | 19 |
| Estimated living today | 510 | 630 |
| Median age today | 8 | 14 |
| Peak year | 2015 | 2016 |
| Best rank | 3,431st boys | 3,293rd boys |
| Rank in 2025 | 3,757th | 5,045th |
| First recorded | 1999 | 1976 |
| Girls / boys | 113 / 403 | 10 / 632 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Rigels alive today are over 14; half the Rigbys are over 8. That is 6 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Rigby and Rigel.