2000
#4,188
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,847
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.91
Rare Last name
Rhea
A surname derived from the Greek mythological mother of the gods and titans, or from Greek rheō, meaning "to flow."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,797 Americans carry the last name Rhea. That puts it at #4,488 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,963 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rhea surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
8.8K
1 in 38,963
Census rank
#4,488
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,671 bearers of the surname Rhea in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4488th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rhea, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rhea
Among Census respondents with the surname Rhea, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rhea bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Rhea surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.6% · 6,263
- Black or African American8.5% · 655
- Two or more races4.7% · 361
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 289
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 41
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rhea
Rhea appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#4,323
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,219
+372 bearers (+4.7%)
Per 100,000 2.79
Rank movement Down 135 places
2020
#4,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,671
-548 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 2.57
Rank movement Down 165 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,188 | 7,847 | 2.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,323 | 8,219 | 2.79 | +372 bearers (+4.7%) | Down 135 places |
| 2020 | #4,488 | 7,671 | 2.57 | -548 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 165 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Rhea surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #4,323 | #4,488 | -3.8% |
| Count | 8,219 | 7,671 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 2.79 | 2.57 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rhea bearers went from 8,219 to 7,671 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 165 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,323 to #4,488.
FAQ
Rhea surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rhea?
Name Census estimates that about 8,797 living Americans carry the surname Rhea. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,963 residents.
How common is Rhea?
Rhea ranks #4,488 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,671 people with the surname Rhea. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,797), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Rhea.
Has Rhea become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rhea went from 8,219 recorded bearers to 7,671. That is a decrease of 548 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,323 to #4,488.
What does the Census say about the background of Rhea?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rhea, the largest self-reported group is White at 81.6%. The next largest groups are Black (8.5%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Rhea in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.6% (6,263 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rhea appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (81.6%), Black (8.5%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Rhea (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Rhea mean?
A surname derived from the Greek mythological mother of the gods and titans, or from Greek rheō, meaning "to flow." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Rhea (2.57 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Rhea?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.