Rev
A masculine name meaning "to be revered or respected".
Name Census estimates that about 80 living Americans carry the first name Rev. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rev today is around 6 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rev births was 2021 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rev. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Rev. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
80
~ 1 in 4,284,429 Americans
Peak year
2021
17 babies that year
Average age
6
years old
2024 SSA rank
#7,144
Tracked since 2014
Census
Rev in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 222 people with the first name Rev, which placed it at #35,960 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
#35,960
National first-name rank
People counted
222
222 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rev
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rev is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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 Rev 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 Rev at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.1% · 120
- Black or African American28.4% · 63
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino5.0% · 11
- Two or more races4.1% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 6
Popularity
Rev: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rev from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 56 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
Rev 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 Rev 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 Rev
The given name Rev has its origins in the Latin word "reverere," which means "to revere" or "to honor." It is a name that reflects a deep sense of respect and reverence, often associated with religious or spiritual contexts.
In the early Christian era, the title "Reverend" was used as a honorific for clergy members, particularly those holding positions of authority within the Church. Over time, this title evolved into a given name, carrying the connotation of reverence and devotion.
The name Rev gained prominence during the Middle Ages, when it was commonly bestowed upon individuals born into religious families or those who dedicated their lives to the service of the Church. It was prevalent in regions where Christianity had a strong influence, such as parts of Europe and the Mediterranean.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rev can be found in the 11th century, when a Benedictine monk named Rev Adelard of Bath (c. 1080-c. 1152) gained recognition for his scholarly works and contributions to the translation of Arabic texts into Latin.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Rev, including Rev. John Witherspoon (1723-1794), a Presbyterian minister and one of the signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. Another prominent individual was Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), the renowned civil rights activist and leader of the African-American civil rights movement.
In the realm of literature, Rev. Laurence Sterne (1713-1768) was an Irish novelist and Anglican clergyman, best known for his satirical novel "The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman." The name Rev also appears in religious texts, such as the Rev. John Newton (1725-1807), an Anglican clergyman who authored the beloved hymn "Amazing Grace."
Rev. Jesse Jackson (born 1941), a prominent American civil rights activist and Baptist minister, has been a prominent figure in the fight for social justice and racial equality. He is known for his work in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and his presidential campaigns in the 1980s.
While the name Rev has its roots in religious and spiritual contexts, it has also been adopted by individuals outside of these realms, reflecting the universal appeal of reverence and respect.
People
Rev + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rev 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
Rev: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rev?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 80 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rev 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 4,284,429 US residents.
Is Rev a common name?
We classify Rev as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 81 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rev most popular?
The single biggest year for Rev was 2021, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rev is about 6 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rev in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 222 people with the name Rev, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,960 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 Rev 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 Rev?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rev leans strongly male. 187 people counted with this name were male (81.0%), compared with 44 female bearers (19.0%). 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 Rev?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rev is White at 54.1%. The next largest groups are Black (28.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.9%). 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 Rev most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Rev in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.1% (120 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 Rev in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rev a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Rev 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 Rev still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rev 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 Rev 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 Rev as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Rev, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.