As a given name, it was used on the American sitcom Murphy Brown (1988-1998) for both the mother and son of the main character. By 1998 it was more popular as a name for girls in the United States, perhaps further inspired by a character from the movie Jerry Maguire (1996).
It was rare as an American given name before 1975. In the mid-1980s it began growing in popularity for boys after a character by this name began appearing on the soap opera Ryan's Hope. It is now more common as a feminine name, probably due to the fame of the actress Dakota Fanning (1994-).
This name died out after the Middle Ages, but was revived in the 19th century. In America and other countries it became fairly popular in the second half of the 20th century. A famous bearer of the surname is former basketball star Michael Jordan (1963-).
Famous bearers include Peyton Randolph (1721-1775), the first president of the Continental Congress, and American football quarterback Peyton Manning (1976-).
Before 1980, this was an uncommon masculine name in America. During the 1980s and 90s this name steadily increased in popularity for both boys and girls, and from 2003 onwards it has been more common for girls in the United States. Elsewhere in the English-speaking world, such as the United Kingdom and Australia, it has remained largely masculine.
In the United States this name steadily grew in popularity through the 1950s and 60s. It shot up the charts after the release of the 1970 movie Ryan's Daughter. Within a few years it was in the top 20 names, where it would stay for over three decades. Famous bearers include the Canadian actors Ryan Reynolds (1976-) and Ryan Gosling (1980-).
The surname was borne by the title character in the novel Waverley (1814) by Walter Scott. Streets in New York and San Francisco have been named Waverly after the novel, and a female character in Amy Tan's novel The Joy Luck Club (1989) is named after the San Francisco street. The name received a small boost in popularity for girls after the 1993 release of the novel's movie adaptation, and it rose further after the debut of the television series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-2012).