Imagine going to a gathering where all of the people there share your first name. What do you think it would be like? What happens when someone calls out your name? Do you have much in common? Do you leave feeling even prouder of your name?
Sometime last year, I heard that people named Ryan have been gathering for Ryan Meetups just for people who are named Ryan. I was immediately intrigued. Names are so important—and so interesting. The idea that people named Ryan would gather together simply to celebrate sharing a name really struck me.
Then I learned that one of the Ryans in my world had flown to Minnesota with his parents in July to be part of a Ryan Meetup himself—and to try to break a word record. That Ryan, Ryan Butts, is a graduate of Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Baynesville and Calvert Hall College High School. He is a junior at Loyola University Maryland (where I also happen to work, though our paths crossed prior to his coming to Loyola). He and his family are parishioners at Immaculate Heart of Mary.
I asked Ryan if he would be willing to answer a few questions about his participation in this gathering of Ryans, and he generously agreed.
When did you first learn about Ryan Meetups? How did you decide you wanted to be part of them?
I first learned about them through Instagram. There is a popular Instagram account with over 100,000 followers that coordinates events and frequently posts about things to do with the name Ryan. The account has gained popularity by planning ambitious meetups, and I discovered them through my friends and some family members sending me links to their Instagram posts. I decided I wanted to be a part of Ryan Meetups because they seemed like such a fun, unique, and memorable way to build community.
What did this meetup entail?
The Ryan Meetup in Minnesota entailed an event where Ryans travelled across the world to “Ryde the Ryancoaster” inside the Mall of America. The “Ryancoaster” was the Pepsi Orange Streak coaster jokingly renamed for a day. Before riding the coaster, we met outside the theme park Nickelodeon Universe and had a gathering as Ryans. We waited in line to receive name tags and watched a show put on by some of the Ryans who coordinated the meetup. The show included chanting the name Ryan, booing the name Bryan, and a contest to see who travelled the farthest to the event. Ryans travelled to Minneapolis from places as far as London and California, but the farthest was Hawaii.
After the show, we lined up to ride the “Ryancoaster.” I made friends with many other Ryans while we waited in line. After the roller coaster, they offered special food deals at the Mall of America, but we were running a little late to enjoy it. We were stuck in line for a while because the roller coaster broke down! The Pepsi Orange Streak is more of a kiddie ride and is not used to accommodating the weight of dozens of grown men. The coaster was eventually restored, but only half of the seats were allowed to be used to limit the weight.
I went home after the first day, but the second day of the meetup included the “Ryan Baseball Classic” where Ryans went to the Minnesota Twins game. They were able to parade on the field. They wildly cheered for the Twins catcher, who is named Ryan Jeffers.
Why Minneapolis? Was this the effort to break the world record? Did you break it?
I am not sure why they chose Minneapolis for this event. If I had to assume, it is because the Mall of America can accommodate so many people. The Ryan Meetups take place at many different places, such as New York and Iowa, so maybe they wanted to cover a new region of the United States. The “Ryancoaster” event was a goal to break the world record of the most people with the same name riding a roller coaster consecutively. We did break the world record! They have sent it to Guiness for verification.
What is it like to be in a huge crowd of people all with the same name? How do people communicate? Do they call each other by middle or last names? Or does everyone just call everyone “Ryan”?
It was honestly indescribable to be in a crowd of all Ryans. When I was getting into line there were probably about 1,000 people in front of me, and as I walked past them, I was in shock seeing so many people named Ryan. Everybody called each other Ryan, which did make things a little confusing throughout the night. There were countless times I heard my name, looked around, and remembered everyone there was named Ryan!
Do people who share the name Ryan have a lot in common?
I would say no, but in the best way possible. I talked to one Ryan, who is a hotel manager. I talked to others who worked in finance, or who were still studying. There are countless Ryans doing a variety of things, but they are all united by having a name in common.
Did you go with anyone else named Ryan that you already know? Had you connected with people in advance?
I went into the event knowing no one in advance. It worked out because the event had a wonderful community, and I got to talk to many great people.
Some people love their names and some people are ambivalent. How do you feel about the name Ryan? Were most of the people there enthusiastic about the name Ryan?
Everyone there was so enthusiastic about the name Ryan! I have always felt pretty ambivalent about my name, but after the Ryan Meetup, I am much prouder of my name. I now feel a lot more of a connection to other Ryans after attending.
Did you feel like you were making history?
It really did feel like I was making history. It is hard to describe how many Ryans there were at this event. I think there were over 1,200 people named Ryan in attendance, which felt truly insane.
How do they ensure that everyone truly is named Ryan? What is the screening process like?
At the beginning of the event, all of the Ryans waited in line to get their name tags. We had to present ID to prove our name was Ryan. Non-Ryans were welcome, but they did not get name tags and were not able to participate in the “Ryancoaster.”
What would I be surprised to learn about this experience?
You might be surprised to hear that most of the Ryans did not travel too far to attend. The eventual goal of Ryan Meetup is to break the world record for the most people with the same first name to be in the same place, and the fact that most Ryans were local is a good sign for eventually breaking the world record, because most Ryans would travel a little farther to break such a big world record.
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What a joyful encounter and a beautiful reminder that we are each unique and yet we all have so much in common—whether we share a name or some other connection. Whatever our name, God loves each of us as a unique being—and he knows us and loves us fully. Giving a child a name is one of the first gifts parents get to offer their children, and baptism ceremonies are such joyful moments, as a child is claimed as one of God’s children before a faith community.
“Without a name, we remain unknown, without rights and duties,” Pope Francis told us. “God calls each one of us by name, loving us individually in the concreteness of our history.”
So whether your name is Ryan or Bryan or something else, you are called and you are loved. But you can only participate fully in a Ryan meetup if you are actually Ryan.
Huge thanks to Ryan—Ryan Butts, that is—for taking the time to share about his experience with more than 1,000 other Ryans. What an incredible experience.
Photos courtesy of Ryan Butts and his family
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