Rey
A unisex name of Spanish origin meaning "king".
Name Census estimates that about 9,403 living Americans carry the first name Rey. It is a predominantly male name (94.9% of registrations). The average person named Rey today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rey births was 2021 (394 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rey. 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 Rey with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
9.4K
~ 1 in 36,452 Americans
Peak year
2021
394 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#821
Tracked since 1915
Census
Rey in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 11,635 people with the first name Rey, which placed it at #2,240 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
#2,240
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
11,635 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
75.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rey
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rey is Hispanic at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%) and White (6.9%). 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 Rey 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 Rey at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.2% · 8,744
- Asian and Pacific Islander14.7% · 1,708
- White6.9% · 802
- Black or African American1.7% · 198
- Two or more races1.2% · 137
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 46
Gender
Gender distribution for Rey
Rey leans heavily male at 94.9% of total registrations, but 502 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Rey as a male name
- Ranked #821 in 2024
- 303 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (328 births)
Rey as a female name
- Ranked #6,093 in 2024
- 20 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2020 (85 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rey leans strongly male. 11,134 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 501 female bearers (4.3%).
Popularity
Rey: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rey from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 2,809 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Rey remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rey 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 Rey during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Rey, while Virginia, Oklahoma, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 248 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rey
The name Rey has its origins in the Spanish language and culture. It is a masculine name that is derived from the Spanish word "rey," which means "king." The name likely originated in medieval times, during the era of Spanish monarchies and royal dynasties.
In ancient Spanish texts and historical records, the name Rey was often used to refer to actual kings or rulers. It was a title of respect and authority, signifying the highest rank in the kingdom. As a given name, it likely emerged as a way to honor or commemorate a ruling monarch or to express a desire for the child to possess qualities associated with kingship, such as leadership, power, and nobility.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rey dates back to the 13th century, when a Spanish nobleman named Rey de Castilla was mentioned in chronicles from the reign of King Alfonso X. However, it is possible that the name was in use even earlier, as written records from that time period were often incomplete or lost.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Rey. One of the most famous was Rey Pastor, a Spanish mathematician and educator who lived from 1888 to 1962. He made significant contributions to the fields of functional analysis and mathematical analysis, and was a professor at the University of Madrid.
Another prominent figure was Rey Manaj, an Albanian revolutionary and leader of the Kachak movement, which fought against Ottoman rule in the early 20th century. He was born in 1872 and played a crucial role in the struggle for Albanian independence.
In the realm of sports, Rey Mysterio is a well-known Mexican professional wrestler who has achieved great success in both WWE and lucha libre. Born in 1974, he is renowned for his high-flying style and has won numerous championships throughout his career.
Rey Pila was a Filipino boxer and world champion who competed in the 1920s and 1930s. Born in 1899, he held the World Flyweight title from 1923 to 1925 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 1996.
Finally, Rey Negrón was a Puerto Rican actor and comedian who became a popular figure in Latin American television and films during the mid-20th century. Born in 1928, he was known for his comedic roles and his ability to bring laughter to audiences across various Spanish-speaking countries.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rey
People
Rey + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rey 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
Rey: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rey?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9,403 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rey 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 36,452 US residents.
Is Rey a common name?
We classify Rey as "Rare". It ranks above 97.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,933 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rey most popular?
The single biggest year for Rey was 2021, when 394 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rey is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Rey in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 11,635 people with the name Rey, or 3.85 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,240 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 Rey 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 Rey?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Rey leans strongly male. 11,134 people counted with this name were male (95.7%), compared with 501 female bearers (4.3%). 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 Rey?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Rey is Hispanic at 75.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (14.7%) and White (6.9%). 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 Rey most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Rey in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.2% (8,744 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 Rey in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Rey a male name?
Yes, 94.9% of people registered as Rey 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 Rey still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Rey 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 Rey 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 Rey?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.