Reia
A feminine name of Japanese origin signifying "jasmine".
Name Census estimates that about 255 living Americans carry the first name Reia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Reia today is around 10 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reia births was 2021 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reia. 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.
People living today
255
~ 1 in 1,344,135 Americans
Peak year
2021
31 babies that year
Average age
10
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,389
Tracked since 1975
Popularity
Reia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reia from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 106 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reia 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 Reia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Reia
The name Reia is believed to have originated from the Sanskrit language, which is an ancient Indo-Aryan language that was predominantly used in the Indian subcontinent. The name derives from the Sanskrit word "rai," which means "wealth" or "prosperity." It is thought to have first appeared in ancient Hindu texts and scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, dating back to around 1500-500 BCE.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reia can be found in the Mahabharata, an ancient Indian epic poem that is believed to have been composed between the 8th and 4th centuries BCE. In this epic, Reia is mentioned as the name of a character who was a princess from the kingdom of Kashi (present-day Varanasi).
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Reia. One of the most famous was Reia Bharadwaj, a renowned Indian philosopher and scholar who lived during the 7th century CE. She is renowned for her contributions to the field of logic and her commentaries on ancient Hindu texts.
Another notable figure was Reia Devi, a Hindu queen who ruled over the Chalukya dynasty in the Deccan region of India during the 11th century CE. She is celebrated for her patronage of the arts, literature, and architecture, and for commissioning the construction of several magnificent temples and monuments.
In the field of literature, Reia Chandra was a celebrated Bengali poet and writer who lived during the 19th century. She is renowned for her works that explored themes of love, spirituality, and social injustice.
The name Reia also made an appearance in Greek mythology, where it was the name of a minor goddess associated with fertility and prosperity. In Greek literature, she was sometimes depicted as a companion to the goddess Demeter.
Another notable figure was Reia Ishikawa, a Japanese painter and artist who lived during the early 20th century. She was known for her intricate watercolor paintings that depicted traditional Japanese scenes and landscapes.
While the name Reia has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions around the world over the centuries, with each culture and region potentially imbuing it with its own unique meanings and significance.
People
Reia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reia 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
Reia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 255 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reia 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 1,344,135 US residents.
Is Reia a common name?
We classify Reia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reia most popular?
The single biggest year for Reia was 2021, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reia is about 10 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reia 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.