Rey

What Rey means

Spanish, meaning “king”

See rey (“king”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Rey” (revision 93609034), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Rey?

US: Steady: #897 in 2015, #906 now. England & Wales: Steady: #2707 in 2015, #2952 now.

Biggest US share so far: 2021, when 328 boys got the name (#764 that year). First in the US records in 1915.

How common

• About 1 in 6,519 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 38,848 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 TX (0.42 per 1,000 boys), CA (0.38 per 1,000 boys), AZ (0.31 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Rey is #906 in the US and #2952 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 91.6% of US babies named Rey were boys.

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

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Roy570 US · 48 E&W
• Ray319 US · 64 E&W
• Rui49 US · 18 E&W
• Rei35 US · 7 E&W
• Roi34 US · 4 E&W
• Rai29 US · 9 E&W
• Ra14 US
• Roe8 US · 5 E&W

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 Rey

Boys

• Ezekiel#61“God strengthens”^*
• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Kai#93“warrior”^*
• Luca#14Form of Lucy, meaning “light”^*
• Asher#28Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #28 vs #150 in 2025
• Mateo#8Same root as Matthew, meaning “gift of the Lord”^*

For a sister

• Luna#27“the moon”^*
• Leilani#60Hawaiian, meaning “a lei; a child + heavenly, royal”^*
• Esme#298Diminutive of Esmeralda, meaning “emerald”^*
• Naomi#47“my pleasantness”^*
• River#219From the word “river”^*
• Myla#210Editor’s note Up from #335 in 2015 to #210 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Rey’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.