Rett
A Scandinavian masculine name meaning "messenger".
Name Census estimates that about 137 living Americans carry the first name Rett. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rett today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rett births was 2013 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rett. 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
137
~ 1 in 2,501,856 Americans
Peak year
2013
8 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,754
Tracked since 1958
Census
Rett in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 272 people with the first name Rett, which placed it at #31,478 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
#31,478
National first-name rank
People counted
272
272 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
92.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rett
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rett is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rett 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 Rett at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.6% · 252
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 9
- Two or more races2.2% · 6
- Black or African American1.1% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Popularity
Rett: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rett from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 38 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rett remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rett 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 Rett during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rett
The name Rett is believed to have originated as a diminutive form of the Germanic name Retrud or Regintrude, which is composed of the elements "ragin" meaning "counsel" and "drud" meaning "strength". It emerged in the Middle Ages, primarily in areas of Germany and the Low Countries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rett was in the 9th century, referring to a Benedictine abbess named Rett von Herford who lived in present-day North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She is credited with founding the Herford Abbey and promoting women's education and religious studies.
In the 11th century, a knight named Rett von Hammerstein was mentioned in chronicles from the Holy Roman Empire. He was a distinguished military leader who served under Emperor Henry IV and participated in the Investiture Controversy between the Empire and the Papacy.
During the Renaissance period, Rett Ziegler (1450-1520) was a renowned German humanist scholar and writer. He was a professor at the University of Ingolstadt and authored several works on philosophy, rhetoric, and classical literature.
In the 17th century, Rett Gossart (1608-1658) was a Flemish Baroque painter known for his portraits and religious scenes. He was a prominent member of the Antwerp school of painting and influenced by the style of Peter Paul Rubens.
The 19th century saw the birth of Rett Butler (1821-1878), an American politician and lawyer from South Carolina. He served as a Confederate congressman during the American Civil War and later as a judge in the state's Supreme Court.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Rett, showcasing its longevity and presence across various cultural and professional domains.
People
Rett + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rett 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
Rett: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rett?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 137 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rett 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 2,501,856 US residents.
Is Rett a common name?
We classify Rett as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 142 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rett most popular?
The single biggest year for Rett was 2013, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rett is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rett in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 272 people with the name Rett, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #31,478 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 Rett 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 Rett?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rett leans strongly male. 260 people counted with this name were male (94.9%), compared with 14 female bearers (5.1%). 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 Rett?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rett is White at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.3%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Rett most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (252 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 Rett in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rett a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rett 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 Rett still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rett 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 Rett 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 have Rett as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Rett on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.