Reece
Derived from the Welsh name Rhys, meaning enthusiasm or ardent.
Name Census estimates that about 24,343 living Americans carry the first name Reece. It sits at #455 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 81.8% of registrations being male. The average person named Reece today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reece births was 2005 (998 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reece. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Reece with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
24K
~ 1 in 14,080 Americans
Peak year
2005
998 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#455
Tracked since 1880
Census
Reece in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 20,296 people with the first name Reece, which placed it at #1,588 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
#1,588
National first-name rank
People counted
20K
20,296 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reece
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reece is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Reece 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 Reece at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 16,462
- Two or more races6.7% · 1,350
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 1,166
- Black or African American3.9% · 796
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 356
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 166
Gender
Gender distribution for Reece
Reece leans heavily male at 81.8% of total registrations, but 4,746 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Reece as a male name
- Ranked #455 in 2024
- 686 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2001 (798 births)
Reece as a female name
- Ranked #1,431 in 2024
- 155 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (269 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reece leans strongly male. 16,306 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 3,989 female bearers (19.7%).
Popularity
Reece: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reece from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 9,184 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Reece remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reece 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 Reece during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reeces live
The SSA's state-level files cover 47 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Reece, while Wyoming, New Mexico, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 441 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reece
The name Reece has its origins in the Welsh language and culture, with its roots tracing back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Welsh word "rhys," which means "ardor" or "enthusiasm." The name gained popularity in Wales during the Middle Ages and was often associated with individuals of prominent status or nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reece can be found in the historical records of the Welsh princes and rulers. In the 12th century, a Welsh prince named Rhys ap Gruffydd, also known as The Lord Rhys, played a significant role in the struggle against Norman rule in Wales. His legacy contributed to the enduring popularity of the name among the Welsh people.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Reece or its variations. One such individual was Reece Winstone (1900-1991), a Welsh actor known for his roles in films like "The Elephant Man" and "The Dresser." Another prominent bearer of the name was Reece Shearsmith (born 1969), an English actor, writer, and comedian best known for his work in shows like "The League of Gentlemen" and "Inside No. 9."
In the literary realm, Reece Pemberton (1904-1950) was an American novelist and short story writer whose works often explored themes of race and social injustice. Additionally, Reece Wilkinson (1890-1968) was a British artist known for his landscape paintings and depictions of rural life.
While the name Reece has Welsh roots, it has also been adopted and used in various other cultures and languages. For instance, in English-speaking countries, the name has gained popularity as a variant of the more common name "Rhys." It has also been used as a surname, although this report focuses solely on its use as a given name.
People
Reece + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reece 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
Reece: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reece?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 24,343 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reece 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 14,080 US residents.
Is Reece a common name?
We classify Reece as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 26,036 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reece most popular?
The single biggest year for Reece was 2005, when 998 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reece is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reece in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 20,296 people with the name Reece, or 6.72 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,588 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 Reece 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 Reece?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reece leans strongly male. 16,306 people counted with this name were male (80.3%), compared with 3,989 female bearers (19.7%). 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 Reece?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reece is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.7%) and Hispanic (5.7%). 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 Reece most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reece in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (16,462 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 Reece in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reece a male name?
Yes, 81.8% of people registered as Reece in the SSA data are male. 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 Reece still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reece 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 Reece 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 named Reece?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.