Meaning: From the English word riven, 'split, torn' (Old Norse rifa) — also a Myst game and League championMedium
In 30 seconds: Cleft like lightning-struck oak: Riven is the old word for 'split through' — and two beloved video-game legends. Dramatic, windswept, and screen-born twice.
Riven comes from the English past participle 'split, cleft' — Old Norse rifa, 'to tear'. The Myst sequel and the League champion lifted the stormy word into name use.
It registers thinly in records. Very rare, cleft at the root, and atmospheric.
Did you know? Riven was the haunting 1997 sequel to Myst and later a sword-broken League of Legends exile — a word for 'torn' that keeps finding stories.
