Reis
A Persian name meaning "leader", "chief", or "guide".
Name Census estimates that about 911 living Americans carry the first name Reis. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Reis today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reis births was 2013 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reis. 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
911
~ 1 in 376,240 Americans
Peak year
2013
46 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,718
Tracked since 1982
Gender
Gender distribution for Reis
Reis leans heavily male at 86.9% of total registrations, but 121 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Reis as a male name
- Ranked #6,718 in 2024
- 13 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2000 (45 births)
Reis as a female name
- Ranked #17,233 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2013 (12 births)
Popularity
Reis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reis from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 393 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reis 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 Reis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Indiana, New York, California recorded the most babies named Reis, while Ohio, Illinois, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reis
The name Reis has its origins in the Portuguese language and likely dates back to the 13th or 14th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "rei," meaning "king." This name may have originally been used as a title or descriptor for someone who held a position of authority or power, similar to a king or ruler.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Reis can be found in the 14th-century Portuguese epic poem "Os Lusíadas" by Luís Vaz de Camões. In this work, the name appears as a character or reference to a person of significance.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Reis. One of the most famous was Reis Efendiev, an Azerbaijani composer and conductor who lived from 1915 to 1997. His contributions to the development of Azerbaijani classical music were significant, and he is regarded as one of the most influential cultural figures in the country's history.
Another prominent figure with the name Reis was Reis Leming, an American baseball player who played in the Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1914 to 1923. He was a pitcher for several teams, including the Boston Red Sox and the Philadelphia Athletics.
In the realm of literature, Reis Paternò was an Italian writer and poet who lived from 1867 to 1950. He was known for his works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience.
Reis Vellinho was a Brazilian writer and journalist who lived from 1933 to 2015. He was a prolific author and a prominent figure in the literary circles of Brazil, known for his novels, short stories, and essays.
Lastly, Reis Pinto was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who lived in the 16th century. He was involved in several expeditions to the Indian Ocean and the East Indies, contributing to the expansion of Portuguese maritime exploration and trade during that era.
People
Reis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reis 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
Reis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 911 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reis 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 376,240 US residents.
Is Reis a common name?
We classify Reis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 923 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reis most popular?
The single biggest year for Reis was 2013, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reis is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Reis a male name?
Yes, 86.9% of people registered as Reis 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.
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.