Rye is an English word name taken from the hardy "grain" that gives rye bread and whiskey their flavor; it is also an old surname and the name of a medieval port town in Sussex. As a given name it belongs to the recent fashion for short, rustic nature names such as Ash or Reed. In the United States Rye ranked number 6229 in 2000, reached its high of number 1934 in 2020 and stands at number 2531 in 2025.