Unisex · #6,171 in 2026

Rees

Rees is a name with a single cultural origin: Welsh.

  • Welsh
Current Rank
#6,171
Peak Rank
#2,578 (2000)
Total Babies
1K
5-Yr Trend
-30%
👧 Girl peak #8,270 (136 total)
👦 Boy peak #2,578 (1K total)
👦As Boy Name
1914
First Year
2024
Last Year
2000
Peak Year
#2578
Peak Rank
1K
Total Count
81
Years Active
👧As Girl Name
1999
First Year
2023
Last Year
2010
Peak Year
#8270
Peak Rank
136
Total Count
19
Years Active

Meaning & Origin of Rees

What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.

Rees is a name with a single cultural origin: Welsh.

Origin data from Behind the Name .

Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)

  • Welsh

The Story of Rees

As a girl name

Rees first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a girl name in 1999, with 7 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 2010: 14 births, good for #8,270 nationwide. About 46% of every Rees on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. Rees last appeared in the published SSA data in 2023, with 5 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 136 Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1990s to the 2020s.

As a boy name

The earliest SSA record of Rees as a boy name dates back to 1914, when 5 babies received it. 2000 was its biggest year on record, with 36 newborns named Rees — #2,578 in the national rankings. About 29% of every Rees on record arrived during the 2000s, its defining decade. Rees last appeared in the published SSA data in 2024, with 14 recorded births — it has not charted nationally since. All told, over 1K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1910s to the 2020s.

Popularity Over Time

Girls Boys

Popularity by State

ME
WA
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
VT
NH
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
CA
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
DC
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
SC
AK
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
GA
HI
TX
FL
Top 10
11-50
51-100
101-500
500+
No data

Variants & Related Forms of Rees

Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Rees. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Names that sound like Rees

Phonetically similar names — useful when Rees is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.

Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.

Frequently Asked Questions about Rees

What does the name Rees mean?
Rees is a name with a single cultural origin: Welsh.
What is the origin of the name Rees?
Rees has roots in the following cultural and linguistic traditions: Welsh.
How popular is Rees in 2026?
In 2026, Rees ranks #6,171 among boys' names in the U.S., with 14 babies given the name that year.
When was Rees most popular?
Rees reached its peak popularity in 2000, ranking #2,578 that year with 36 babies given the name.
In which U.S. states is Rees most popular?
Rees has historically been most popular in Ohio, California. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Rees.
Is Rees a unisex name?
Yes — Rees is used for both girls and boys in U.S. records, with about 12% of Reess assigned female and 88% assigned male historically.
What names go well with Rees?
Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Rees include Keeton, Nasim, Boruch. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data.
What are nicknames or variants of Rees?
Common variants and related forms of Rees include Reece, Reese, Rhys. These cover foreign-language equivalents, alternate spellings, and short forms.

About the name Rees

Rees is a unisex baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1914 and has accumulated 1K births in the dataset. Rees's peak popularity came in 2000 when it ranked #2,578. Use the chart and map above to compare Rees's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.

Continue exploring

Data sources

  • Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
  • Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
  • Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
  • Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
  • Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .

Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.