About

Ryan Smith or the Ryan Smith Meme is a series of memes that make fun of the name "Ryan Smith" for being common, portraying people named Ryan Smith as basic, predictable, NPC-like and devoid of unique traits. The memes were started by YouTuber Grant Wisler and his video "When The Niche Internet Meme Goes Mainstream," which features a parody of the Quandale Dingle meme where a screenshot of a computer login screen with the name "Ryan Smith" on it goes viral, inspiring H00pify to make a video where he narrates, "Who is this Ryan Smith who forgot to sign out of his computer?"

The video was released in late February 2026 and went viral, with memes about the name going viral that month.

Origin

On February 21st, 2026, content creator Grant Wisler posted a video on YouTube^[1] titled, "When The Niche Internet Meme Goes Mainstream," garnering over 139,000 views in three days. He posted the video on TikTok^[2] on the same day, gaining over 4.2 million views in the same span of time.

In the video, a man takes a photo of a PC login screen displaying the name "Ryan Smith." The man wonders if "Ryan Smith" is the most basic name of all time. He takes a photo of the screen and attaches captions to it making fun of the name for being basic, then posts it online. The image goes viral and turns the name "Ryan Smith" into a meme, inspiring a parody of H00pify to make a video about the meme.

The real Ryan Smith becomes a joke and ends up on an interview, where he explains that the meme has ruined his life and gives a tragic backstory regarding why he had to leave the PC before fully logging out. At the end he attends a support group for memes and meets Quandale Dingle, finding it hard not to laugh at his name.

The skit is a parody of the Quandale Dingle meme and its origins, which began with a photo of a PC login screen displaying the name "Quandale Dingle."

Spread

Memes about the name Ryan Smith were popularized in late February 2026 on TikTok, inspired directly by Wisler's video.

On February 23rd, 2026, TikToker^[3] @jeviduboi posted a meme using the Gurt: Yo format about the name Ryan Smith, portraying someone with the name ordering plain glazed donuts, garnering over 208,000 views in a day.

That day, TikToker^[4] @slide4228 posted a similar meme about the "Ryan Smith factory" pumping out identical Ryan Smiths, garnering over 43,000 views in a day.

On February 24th, TikToker^[5] @ca_llan1 posted a version of the meme attaching the captioned "Yeah my name's Ryan Smith" starting with a video clip of several white people moving their heads back and forth in sync, watching an event, garnering over 130,000 views in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References