Rhys

What Rhys means

Welsh, from Old Welsh Ris, meaning “ardor, fiery warrior”

From Old Welsh Ris (“ardor, fiery warrior”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *Hreth₂- (“to run”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Rhys” (revision 94542975), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Rhys?

US: Rising: up from #512 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #136 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2024, when 952 boys got the name (#352 that year). First in the US records in 1929.

How common

• About 1 in 2,195 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 2,565 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 1,511 baby boys 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 (2.71 per 1,000 boys), RI (2.24 per 1,000 boys), PA (1.76 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Rhys is #410 in the US and #389 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 95.3% of US babies named Rhys 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

• Rhyze8 US
• Rhyse8 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 Rhys

Boys

• Rowan#59“little red one”^*
• Kian#400Editor’s note Up from #489 in 2015 to #400 in 2025 in the US
• Liam#1Form of William, meaning “will + helmet”^*
• Declan#139Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #139 vs #372 in 2025
• Alistair#897“to defend + man”^*
• Finn#206“the Sami”^*

For a sister

• Nola#821Editor’s note Down from #769 in 2015 to #821 in 2025 in the US
• Ellis#682“benevolent, kind”^*
• Gwen#725Same root as Wendy, meaning “watercourse with a bend + island”^*
• Rory#230“red-haired king”^*
• Guinevere#898Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #898 vs #2,788 in 2025
• Gwendolyn#360Variant of Gwendolen, meaning “white, fair, blessed + ring, bow…^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Irish & Celtic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Rhys’s. Rank is US 2025.