River
River is classified as a mostly male given name in our dataset. A first name alone does not establish someone’s gender or preferred form of address.
Confidence describes the weight of the source data, not a measured accuracy rate.
- Verdict
- Mostly male
- Confidence
- High (source weight of at least 64; not an accuracy rate)
- High source frequency in
- United States
- US records 1880–2017
- 15,944 male / 7,057 female
- Data
- nam_dict (GFDL) + US SSA
- Dataset built
- 2026-09-11
How to address River
If you do not know River’s preferred form of address, use a greeting without Mr or Ms: “Dear River,” in English, “Guten Tag River,” in German. Include their family name if you know it. The name’s classification describes its usage. Follow the form of address the person uses for themselves.
Ready-made greetings in six languages
English
Dear River,
German
Guten Tag River,
French
Bonjour River,
Spanish
Estimado/a River:
Chinese
River您好：
Japanese
River様
English
Hi River,
German
Hi River,
French
Salut River,
Spanish
Hola River,
Chinese
River你好：
Japanese
Riverさん
This is a statistical estimate, not a statement about the gender, identity or correct form of address of any particular person.
Country breakdown
| Country | How common | Usually |
|---|---|---|
| United States | common | man's name |
United States birth data
15,944 male · 7,057 female · 23,001 births recorded
Records from 1980–2017: 69.3% male.
Frequently asked questions
Is River a male or female name?
River is classified as a mostly male given name in our dataset. A first name alone does not establish someone’s gender or preferred form of address.
How do I address River in an email?
If you do not know River’s preferred form of address, use a greeting without Mr or Ms: “Dear River,” in English, “Guten Tag River,” in German. Include their family name if you know it. The name’s classification describes its usage. Follow the form of address the person uses for themselves.
Is River a unisex name?
River is classified as generally male in the combined dataset. This does not rule out other uses. Our categories describe the sources, rather than a complete survey of everyone with this name.
Related names
Sources
Gender by country: nam_dict, the c't first-names dictionary by Joerg Michael, roughly 44,000 names across 55 countries, licensed GFDL. US frequencies: United States Social Security Administration baby-name data (1880–2017), public domain. Classifications are not measured accuracy rates. Method: how we classify names. Full dataset: data & licences. US source data (babynames). Dataset built 2026-09-11; this is not a new collection date for the source records.
DearWho, "Is River a male or female name?", https://www.dearwho.app/name/river. Data: nam_dict (J. Michael, GFDL) and US SSA, built 2026-09-11.
BibTeX
@misc{dearwho_river,
title = {Is River a male or female name?},
author = {{DearWho}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://www.dearwho.app/name/river},
note = {Data: nam_dict (GFDL), US SSA public domain}
}