Find out how popular the last name Rees is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Rees.

Rees, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Rees surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rees in America

Rees is the 2828th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rees surname appeared 12,754 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Rees.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rees to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Rees

The surname REES is of Welsh origin, deriving from the Welsh word "rhys" meaning ardor or enthusiasm. It is believed to have originated in the 13th century in the counties of Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire in South Wales.

The name is thought to have been initially a Welsh personal name, likely derived from the Welsh word "rhys" or "res" meaning ardent or fiery. It was later adopted as a hereditary surname during the medieval period when surnames became more commonplace.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname REES can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from the year 1195, where a person named Rees ap Griffith is mentioned. This suggests that the name was already in use as a surname or a patronymic by the late 12th century.

The REES surname is also found in the famous Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners and tenants ordered by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Rees" in the records for the county of Gloucestershire.

Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname REES. One of the earliest was Sir Rice ap Thomas (c. 1449-1525), a Welsh soldier and landowner who fought in the Wars of the Roses. Another notable figure was Morgan Rees (1536-1599), a Welsh Protestant reformer and Bishop of Bangor.

Other famous individuals with the surname REES include Thomas Rees (1777-1864), a Welsh clergyman and author, and William Rees (1836-1912), a Welsh journalist and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Montgomery Boroughs.

In more recent times, one of the most prominent bearers of the REES surname was Merlyn Rees (1920-2006), a British Labour politician who served as Home Secretary under Prime Minister James Callaghan in the late 1970s.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rees

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Rees.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Rees was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Rees has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Rees was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Rees, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!