Renea
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "reborn" or "rebirth".
Name Census estimates that about 3,691 living Americans carry the first name Renea. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Renea today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Renea births was 1964 (161 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Renea. 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 Renea with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
3.7K
~ 1 in 92,862 Americans
Peak year
1964
161 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#14,859
Tracked since 1932
Census
Renea in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,893 people with the first name Renea, which placed it at #4,686 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
#4,686
National first-name rank
People counted
3.9K
3,893 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Renea
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Renea is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Renea 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 Renea at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.2% · 2,577
- Black or African American23.1% · 899
- Hispanic or Latino5.5% · 214
- Two or more races3.5% · 135
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 43
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 25
Popularity
Renea: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Renea from the 1930s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,348 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Renea 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 Renea during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reneas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. Texas, Michigan, California recorded the most babies named Renea, while West Virginia, Kansas, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 64 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Renea
The name Renea is a feminine given name that has its roots in the French language. It is believed to have originated as a variation of the name Renée, which itself is derived from the French word "renaître," meaning "to be reborn" or "to be born again." This connection to rebirth and new beginnings suggests that the name may have held spiritual or religious significance in its early usage.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Renea can be traced back to the 16th century in France. During this time, the name was likely associated with the ideals of the Renaissance period, which celebrated the revival of classical art, literature, and philosophy. It is possible that the name was chosen by parents to symbolize a fresh start or a new chapter in their family's history.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name Renea was Renea de France (1510-1574), a French princess who was the daughter of King Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. She held the title of Duchess of Ferrara and played an influential role in the cultural and intellectual life of the Italian Renaissance.
In the 17th century, the name Renea gained popularity among French Huguenots, who were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France. It is believed that some Huguenot families may have chosen the name as a symbolic representation of their religious beliefs and the spiritual renewal they sought in their faith.
Another notable figure in history with the name Renea was Renea Bornheimer (1871-1945), a German-American educator and social reformer. She was a pioneer in the field of vocational education and played a significant role in establishing programs that provided practical training for young women in the early 20th century.
Renea Valens (1941-1959) was an American singer-songwriter who was part of the early rock and roll movement. Although her career was tragically cut short in the infamous "The Day the Music Died" plane crash, she left a lasting impact on the music industry with her unique sound and style.
In more recent times, Renea Trowers (born 1974) is an American professional basketball player who has competed in several prestigious leagues, including the WNBA and the EuroLeague Women. She has been recognized for her exceptional athleticism and dedication to the sport.
While the name Renea may not be as common today as it once was, it carries a rich history and a connection to themes of rebirth, renewal, and cultural significance. Its varied use across different eras and communities highlights the enduring appeal of names that evoke a sense of hope and new beginnings.
People
Renea + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Renea 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
Renea: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Renea?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,691 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Renea 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 92,862 US residents.
Is Renea a common name?
We classify Renea as "Rare". It ranks above 95.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,327 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Renea most popular?
The single biggest year for Renea was 1964, when 161 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Renea is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Renea in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,893 people with the name Renea, or 1.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,686 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 Renea 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 Renea?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Renea leans strongly female. 3,840 people counted with this name were female (98.5%), compared with 58 male bearers (1.5%). 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 Renea?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Renea is White at 66.2%. The next largest groups are Black (23.1%) and Hispanic (5.5%). 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 Renea most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Renea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.2% (2,577 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 Renea in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Renea a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Renea 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 Renea still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Renea 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 Renea 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 Renea?
Find out how many Americans are named Renea on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.