Reather
An invented name, perhaps inspired by the word "reader" or "wreathe".
Name Census estimates that about 165 living Americans carry the first name Reather. It is a predominantly female name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Reather today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reather births was 1919 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reather. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Reather is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Reathers were born before 1959.
People living today
165
~ 1 in 2,077,299 Americans
Peak year
1919
37 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1922 SSA rank
#4,824
Tracked since 1899
Census
Reather in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Reather, which placed it at #33,765 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
86.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reather
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reather is Black at 86.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Reather described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Reather at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American86.5% · 211
- White9.0% · 22
- Two or more races3.3% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Reather
Out of the 917 babies given the name Reather since 1880, 99.5% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Reather as a male name
- Ranked #4,824 in 1922
- 5 male births in 1922
- Peak: 1922 (5 births)
Reather as a female name
- Ranked #10,534 in 1986
- 6 female births in 1986
- Peak: 1919 (37 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reather leans strongly female. 244 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 12 male bearers (4.7%).
Popularity
Reather: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reather from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 266 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reather by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Reather during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reathers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia recorded the most babies named Reather, while Florida, Alabama, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 40 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reather
The name Reather is believed to have originated from the Old English word "hrēothra," which means "reed" or "rush." This suggests that the name might have been used to refer to someone who lived near reeds or marshlands. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 9th century AD, during the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Reather was a monk who lived in the Kingdom of Wessex in the late 9th century. He was known for his scholarly works and contributions to the preservation of ancient manuscripts during a time of frequent Viking invasions.
In the 11th century, a nobleman named Reather of Mercia was recorded as a prominent landowner and advisor to King Edward the Confessor. He played a significant role in the political affairs of the time and was known for his loyalty to the crown.
During the 13th century, a renowned artist and illuminator named Reather worked on several illuminated manuscripts for the Church. His intricate and beautiful illustrations adorned many religious texts and contributed to the rich artistic heritage of the era.
In the 15th century, a merchant named Reather Smythe was known for his successful trading ventures and his philanthropic efforts in supporting the construction of churches and hospitals in his hometown.
Another notable individual with the name Reather was a philosopher and scholar who lived in the 16th century. He was known for his writings on ethics and morality, and his works were widely read and discussed among intellectuals of the time.
While the name Reather was more common in earlier centuries, it has become relatively rare in modern times. However, it continues to carry a sense of historical significance and connection to the rich cultural heritage of the Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods in England.
People
Reather + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reather as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reather: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reather?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 165 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reather going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,077,299 US residents.
Is Reather a common name?
We classify Reather as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 917 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reather most popular?
The single biggest year for Reather was 1919, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reather is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reather in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Reather, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Reather in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Reather?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reather leans strongly female. 244 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 12 male bearers (4.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Reather?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reather is Black at 86.5%. The next largest groups are White (9.0%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Reather most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Reather in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (211 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Reather in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reather a female name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Reather in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Reather still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reather in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Reather can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Reather?
Find out how many Americans are named Reather on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.