Reed

What Reed means

Means “to clear out”

Also as an English surname, from Old English rēodan (“to clear out”), from Proto-West Germanic *reudan.

Source: Wiktionary, “Reed” (revision 92156253), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Reed?

US: Falling: down from #330 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #1673 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2014, when 1,096 boys got the name (#318 that year). First in the US records in 1881.

How common

• About 1 in 2,218 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 30,215 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in DE (2.04 per 1,000 boys), KY (1.85 per 1,000 boys), SD (1.82 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Reed is #417 in the US and #2440 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 98.2% of US babies named Reed were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Reid1,150 US · 95 E&W
• Raed23 US · 10 E&W
• Raad17 US
• Redd13 US · 3 E&W
• Red15 US
• Radd14 US
• Rad9 US
• Rood8 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Reed

Boys

• Sawyer#122“one who saws”^*
• Tucker#181Editor’s note Steady in the US: #186 in 2015 and #181 in 2025
• Paxton#338“settlement of (a person named) *Pæcc”^*
• Ryker#182Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #182 vs #1,066 in 2025
• Braxton#172Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #172 vs #2,014 in 2025
• Zayne#473Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1982, with 6 babies

For a sister

• Mckinley#712Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1978, with 5 babies
• Harper#16From a surname for “a player of the harp”^*
• Hadley#121“heath + woodland clearing”^*
• Sawyer#290“one who saws”^*
• Quinn#97“descendant of Chief”^*
• Kensley#741Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1987, with 8 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under From a surname, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Reed’s. Rank is US 2025.