Inside the Meaning Behind Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s Kids’ Names (and Which Celebrity Helped Choose One!)

The names of all of A$AP Rocky and Rihanna’s children are music industry nods

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky with their sons RZA and Riot Rose.Credit : DIGGZY/REX/Shutterstock

NEED TO KNOW

A$AP Rocky and Rihanna share three children: RZA Athelston, Riot Rose and Rocki Irish
Their kids’ unique names have all been inspired by their parents’ favorite artists, songs and stage names
Rihanna and Rocky have both spoken about how they named their two sons and newborn daughter

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s greatest collab yet? Naming their three children.

The power couple welcomed their first child, RZA Athelston Mayers, on May 13, 2022. A little over a year later, the “Love on the Brain” singer gave birth to their second son, Riot Rose Mayers, on Aug. 1, 2023, followed by their third child and first daughter, Rocki Irish Mayers, on Sept. 13, 2025.

Though it’s clear the parents of three put a lot of thought and creativity into their kids’ names, Rocky joked with GQ that he already decided to name his third after his Highest 2 Lowest costar Denzel Washington.

“Denzel, no matter what,” the Grammy-nominated rapper teased in September 2025. “The first female come out named Denzel, it’s lit. We got it figured out.”

Here’s what Rihanna and Rocky have said about where they found inspiration for their three children’s names and how one of their celebrity friends helped them choose.

They all start with the same letter

Rihanna with her two sons Riot Rose Mayers and RZA Athelston Mayers at the “Smurfs” Premiere on July 13, 2025 in Los Angeles.Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty

The letter ‘R’ is all in the family. Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and Rocky’s birth name is Rakim Mayers. Although they’ve argued over name choices just like any other couple, this tradition is something the couple has always agreed on.

“It’s always going to be an R name,” Rihanna told Entertainment Tonight in June 2025. “That’s the one thing me and Rocky don’t fight over.”

RZA is named after a Wu-Tang Clan member

Rihanna and A$AP Rocky’s son RZA.DIGGZY/REX/Shutterstock

Rocky and Rihanna’s elder son was named after RZA (pronounced “Rizza”), producer, rapper and de facto leader of the Wu-Tang Clan. Though they kept his name hush-hush for almost the first year of his life, Rocky finally confirmed it and its origins in a since-deleted Instagram post celebrating RZA’s first birthday.

“‘WU TANG IZ 4 DA CHUREN’ HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY TO MY 1st BORN . RZA,” he captioned the May 2023 post, per Billboard. RZA later spoke with CNN about what an “honor” it was to have the couple’s son named after him.

“[It’s] a great honor to know that there’s another generation that’s not even of my own household that feels the strength and the inspiration of that name,” RZA, whose real name is Robert Fitzgerald Diggs, told the outlet in July 2023.

He added, “RZA isn’t only a name, it’s a title. So it’s an honor and I salute her and A$AP and their family. All the blessings in the world from me.”

Rocky passed down his stage name to Rocki

A$AP Rocky with newborn son, Riot Rose.DIGGZY/REX/Shutterstock

Though Rocky has yet to confirm it, his and Rihanna’s daughter’s name appears to be an homage to his stage name. The rapper’s moniker comes from his nickname, Rocky, and the title of his crew, which he told Thisis50 in November 2011, stands for “Always Strive And Prosper.”

In her Instagram post announcing Rocki’s birth, Rihanna shared a photo of tiny pink boxing gloves — a sweet nod seemingly to the character Rocky Balboa from Rocky. Rocky commented, “MY LIL LADIES ❤️.”

Pharrell Williams chose Riot’s name 

Rihanna, Riot and A$AP Rocky attend the AWGE Menswear Spring/Summer 2026 show on June 27, 2025 in Paris.rnold Jerocki/Getty

The musicians’ younger son’s name also has musical ties. In a February 2025 interview with Harper’s Bazaar, Rihanna revealed that Pharrell Williams picked out Riot’s name after collaborating on Rocky’s 2023 track “RIOT (Rowdy Pipe’n).”

“He gave us this name thinking it was going to be a girl, because he had seen something online,” the singer said. No matter the sex, Riot’s personality seems to fit his boisterous name.

“When he wakes up, he starts to squeal, scream,” Rihanna told the outlet. “Not in a crying way. He just wants to sing. And I’m like, ‘Okay, here we go!’ He’s my alarm in the morning! He’s not taking no for an answer from anyone.”

RZA shares his dad’s middle name 

Rihanna and RZA Athelston Mayers attend the Premiere of “Smurfs” on July 13, 2025 in Los Angeles.Amy Sussman/Getty

Rocky passed down his unique middle name, Athelston, to his elder son. In an August 2025 interview with GQ, while promoting Highest 2 Lowest, Rocky revealed to Washington and director Spike Lee that his “crazy” middle name has West Indian origins.