Reese
A name of Welsh origin meaning "ardor" or "enthusiasm".
Name Census estimates that about 59,798 living Americans carry the first name Reese. It sits at #190 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 69.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Reese today is around 16 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reese births was 2007 (2,950 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reese. 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
- • Reese started out as a boys' name but over the decades crossed over and is now given to girls far more often.
- • Reese is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 16 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
60K
~ 1 in 5,732 Americans
Peak year
2007
2,950 babies that year
Average age
16
years old
2024 SSA rank
#190
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Reese
Reese is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 62,268 total registrations, 19,129 (30.7%) were male and 43,139 (69.3%) were female.
Reese as a male name
- Ranked #620 in 2024
- 455 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2003 (709 births)
Reese as a female name
- Ranked #190 in 2024
- 1,589 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (2,459 births)
Popularity
Reese: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reese from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 24,290 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Reese remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reese 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 Reese during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reeses live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. Texas, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Reese, while Alaska, Wyoming, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,111 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reese
The name Reese has its origins in the Welsh language and culture. It emerged as a surname derived from the Welsh word "Rhys," which means "ardor" or "enthusiasm." The name gained popularity as a given name in the 19th century, particularly in Wales and parts of England.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Reese can be found in the Welsh manuscript "The Black Book of Carmarthen," dating back to the 13th century. This medieval manuscript contains poems and prose attributed to various Welsh poets and writers, including references to individuals bearing the name Rhys.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Rhys ap Gruffydd was a Welsh prince and the last sovereign ruler of the Kingdom of Deheubarth in South Wales. He played a significant role in the conflicts between the Welsh and the English during that time period.
During the Renaissance era, a Welsh scholar and mathematician named Rhys Goch Eryri (1559-1633) gained recognition for his contributions to the field of mathematics and his involvement in the translation of the Bible into Welsh.
In the 19th century, the name Reese gained further popularity, and several notable individuals bore this name. One such person was Reese Howell (1879-1954), a Welsh minister and missionary who played a significant role in the revival movements in Wales during the early 20th century.
Another prominent figure was Reese Witherspoon (born 1976), an American actress and producer who has won several awards, including an Academy Award for Best Actress. Her given name, Reese, is a nod to her Welsh heritage.
Other historical figures with the name Reese include Reese Gwillim (1833-1898), a Welsh industrialist and philanthropist; Reese Prosser (1804-1876), a Welsh explorer and author; and Reese Williams (1881-1948), a Welsh poet and writer.
While the name Reese has its roots in Welsh culture, it has gained popularity worldwide, particularly in English-speaking countries, and is often chosen for its unique and distinct sound.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Reese
People
Reese + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reese 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
Reese: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reese?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 59,798 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reese 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 5,732 US residents.
Is Reese a common name?
We classify Reese as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 62,268 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reese most popular?
The single biggest year for Reese was 2007, when 2,950 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reese is about 16 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reese a female name?
Yes, 69.3% of people registered as Reese 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.
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.