Ryan (surname)

Ryan is a common Irish surname, as well as being a common given name.

There are several possible origins for the surname. In certain cases it can be a simplified form of Mulryan. In some cases the surname may be derived from the Irish Gaelic Ó Riagháin (modern Irish Ó Riain), meaning "descendant of Rían"; or Ó Maoilriain "descendant of Maoilriaghain", or Ó Ruaidhín "descendant of the little red one". The old Gaelic personal name Rían is of uncertain origin. It may be derived from the Gaelic rí, meaning "king".

The surname Ryan has been confused with the surname Regan, which is derived from Ó Ríagáin, meaning "descendant of Riagán".

List of persons with the surname Ryan

A–D

Ryan

Ryan may refer to:

People and fictional characters

Places

Film, radio, television and web

Other uses

Ryan (film)

Ryan is a 2004 animated documentary created and directed by Chris Landreth about Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who had lived on skid row in Montreal as a result of drug and alcohol abuse. Landreth's chance meeting with Larkin in 2000 inspired him to develop the film, which took 18 months to complete. It was co-produced by Copper Heart Entertainment and the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), and its creation and development is the subject of the NFB documentary Alter Egos. The film incorporated material from archive sources, particularly Larkin's works at the NFB.

The film is an animated interpretation of an interview of Larkin by Landreth, and includes interviews with Larkin's previous partner and coworkers, as well as Landreth. Development of the characters was partially inspired by the plastinated human bodies of the Body Worlds exhibition. The distorted and disembodied appearance of the film's characters is based on Landreth's use of psychological realism to portray emotion visually, and expression is modelled by use of straight ahead animation. The animation was created at the Animation Arts Centre of Seneca College in Toronto. Some of the animation was based on cords, mathematical equations modelling the physical properties of curves and used to animate filamentous objects in the film. The visual effects of the film has been described by reviewers and film critics as difficult to describe and having a distinctive visceral style.

Ryan Howard (The Office)

Ryan Bailey Howard (born May 5, 1979) is a fictional character on the US television series The Office. He is portrayed by the show's writer, director, and executive producer B. J. Novak, and is based upon Ricky Howard from the original British version of The Office (as well as Neil Godwin, during the fourth season), although his role is significantly expanded to that of a main character.

Character profile

Little is known about Ryan Howard's early life, but it is revealed in a deleted scene from "Diversity Day" that he grew up in Scranton. In the webisode "The Story of Subtle Sexuality", Ryan mentions that his parents live in separate houses, which implies that they are separated. At the beginning of the series, Ryan Howard is a temporary employee at the Scranton branch of the fictitious paper distributor Dunder Mifflin who joined the staff in the first episode, earning him the nickname "The Temp".

In early episodes he is shown to be uncomfortable with his professional relationship with his boss, Michael Scott. Michael often forces Ryan to carry out menial tasks for him while at the same time, becoming obsessed with Ryan's personal life as well as gaining Ryan's friendship. As the series progresses, Ryan begins to display a great deal of contempt and disdain for both his coworkers and his job. This becomes more apparent when Ryan is promoted in "The Job" to work at Dunder Mifflin's corporate office in New York. This leads to Ryan becoming an egotistical braggart despite lackluster sales skills. In the season 4 finale "Goodbye, Toby", Ryan is arrested for committing fraud. He is eventually released and required to work community service.