Reese

What Reese means

Means “ardor”

As a given name and British surname generally from Welsh Rhys (literally “ardor”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Reese” (revision 94542928), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Reese?

US: Falling: down from #172 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #1961 in 2015, #1892 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2012, when 2,459 girls got the name (#128 that year). First in the US records in 1924.

How common

• About 1 in 985 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 16,885 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 5,964 baby girls in Scotland 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 (3.55 per 1,000 girls), ND (2.96 per 1,000 girls), NH (2.9 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Reese is #192 in the US and #1892 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 77.4% of US babies named Reese were girls.

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

• Rose2,386 US · 666 E&W
• Reece202 US
• Rouse9 US
• Rosse7 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 Reese

Girls

• Rylee#137Variant of Riley, meaning “rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Riley#48“rye + clearing, meadow”^*
• Rylie#476Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #476 vs #1,454 in 2025
• Macie#438Editor’s note Down from #415 in 2015 to #438 in 2025 in the US
• Reagan#248“descendant of Riagán”^*
• Raegan#505Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1963, with 9 babies

For a brother

• Jackson#36Editor’s note Down from #17 in 2015 to #36 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 260 US boys in the 2025 records
• Carter#45“son of Arthur”^*
• Carson#124“rock”^*
• Parker#102From a surname for “a gamekeeper”^*
• Cooper#27Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #77 in 2015, #27 in 2025
• Brayden#229Variant of Braden, meaning “descendant of Bradán”^*

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 Reese’s. Rank is US 2025.