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

Rhea, 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 Rhea surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Rhea in America

Rhea is the 4323rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Rhea surname appeared 8,219 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Rhea.

We can also compare 2010 data for Rhea 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 Rhea

The surname Rhea has its origins in ancient Greece, where it was derived from the name of the Greek goddess of fertility and motherhood, Rhea. The name Rhea itself is believed to have stemmed from the ancient Greek word "rheo," which means "to flow" or "to stream," possibly referring to the flow of life or the concept of birth and renewal.

In Greek mythology, Rhea was the daughter of the primordial deities Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), and the wife of Cronus, the leader of the Titans. She played a pivotal role in the mythology by saving her son Zeus from being devoured by Cronus, ultimately leading to the overthrow of the Titans and the establishment of the Olympian gods.

The surname Rhea can be traced back to ancient records and texts that reference the goddess, including the works of Homer, Hesiod, and other classical authors. It is believed that the name was adopted as a surname during the Byzantine period, when many Greek names and mythological references were incorporated into personal names.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Rhea can be found in the Venetian archives of the 14th century, where a nobleman named Marco Rhea is mentioned. During the Renaissance period, several prominent individuals bore the surname Rhea, including the Italian humanist and scholar Rhea Silvestri (1445-1521), who was renowned for his contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature.

Another notable figure with the surname Rhea was the Spanish explorer and conquistador Juan de Rhea (c. 1480-1546), who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. In the 17th century, the Italian mathematician and astronomer Giovanni Battista Rhea (1625-1697) made significant contributions to the study of celestial mechanics and the motion of planets.

In the 19th century, the American politician and judge James Rhea (1788-1865) served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee. Additionally, the English poet and novelist Rhea Zangwill (1879-1945) was a prominent figure in the literary circles of her time.

The surname Rhea has also been associated with various place names throughout history, such as the ancient city of Rhea in Crete, the town of Rhea in Arcadia, Greece, and the village of Rhea in Umbria, Italy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Rhea

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

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 Rhea 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 Rhea 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 Rhea was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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