Reu
Hebrew name meaning "his friend" or "his shepherd."
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Reu. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Reu today is around 5 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reu births was 2021 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reu. 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 Reu with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Reu. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
2021
5 babies that year
Average age
5
years old
2021 SSA rank
#13,655
Tracked since 2021
Popularity
Reu: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Reu 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 Reu during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Reu
The given name Reu is derived from the Hebrew name רְעוּ (Re'u), which is a biblical name meaning "friend" or "companion." It is believed to have originated during the ancient biblical times, around the early first millennium BCE.
In the Old Testament, Reu is mentioned as the son of Peleg and the father of Serug in the genealogies recorded in the Book of Genesis. He is listed among the ancestors of Abraham and is said to have lived for 239 years.
The name Reu is not very common, but there are a few notable individuals throughout history who have borne this name. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Reu ben Shlomo, a Jewish scholar and philosopher who lived in medieval Spain during the 11th century.
Another prominent figure with the name Reu was Reu ben Baruch Albalag, a Spanish-Jewish poet and philosopher who lived in the 12th century. He was known for his religious writings and his contributions to the development of Jewish philosophy during the Golden Age of Jewish culture in Spain.
In the 16th century, there was a French Protestant theologian named Reu Chretien who played a significant role in the Protestant Reformation. He was a key figure in the spread of Calvinism in France and was known for his writings on theology and biblical interpretation.
In more recent times, Reu Makata was a notable Japanese writer and poet who lived in the early 20th century. He is considered one of the pioneers of modern Japanese literature and was known for his innovative use of language and his exploration of themes related to identity and social change.
Another individual named Reu was Reu Zhong, a Chinese scientist and engineer who made significant contributions to the field of aerospace engineering in the late 20th century. He was involved in the development of China's space program and played a key role in the design and construction of several spacecraft and rockets.
People
Reu + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reu 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
Reu: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reu?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reu 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 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Reu a common name?
We classify Reu as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reu most popular?
The single biggest year for Reu was 2021, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reu is about 5 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Reu in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reu a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reu 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 Reu still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reu 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 Reu 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Reu?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.