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2025 data, released 8 May 2026

2025 data, released 8 May 2026

Rea

Rea was the 5363rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 24 babies. Its best year was 1910, when it ranked 1102nd; the most babies were born in 1958 (29). Over the last ten years it has moved up 2,550 places. More babies were named Rea in the 1920s than in any other decade.

Meaning (as Rae) short form of Rachel; or Scottish surname · English, Scottish, Hebrew

Rank in 2025
#5,363 girls, up 450 places since 2020
Babies in 2025
24girls
Girls and boys
Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
Peak year
195829 babies
Total since 1880
2,063babies recorded

What does the name Rea mean?

Rea is a spelling of Rae, pronounced the same way, so it shares Rae's meaning and origin.

Rae has two sources. Wiktionary describes it as a short form of Rachel (Hebrew "ewe"), often used as a middle name, and as a Scottish surname, a variant of Roe. Wikipedia also treats it as a feminine of Ray. In the US Rae has been given mostly to girls and was most common in the 1940s to 1960s.

רָחֵל (Biblical Hebrew, “Raḥel, ewe (via Rachel)”)

How sure is this? Probable. Rae can be a short form of Rachel or a surname name; the meaning depends on which.

Related names: Ray, Rachel, Raye.

See also: English names.

Sources for this meaning

Rea popularity since 1880

012.52537.550 1900192019401960198020002020
Girls Babies per year, US, from Social Security records. Years with fewer than 5 babies show as zero.

A few boys are given the name too: 190 since 1912.

YearRank (girls)Babies (girls)
2025#5,36324
2020#5,81321
2010#16,5236
2000#6,41617
1990#7,73211
1980#5,81412
1970#4,99111
1960#4,10711
1950#2,41218
1940#2,18915
1930#2,00618
1920#2,06119
1910#1,10217
1900#1,5398
1890——
1880——

How popular is Rea, counting every spelling?

Rea is a spelling of Rae, a name family that ranked #1,068 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #5,363 for Rea on its own. Together these spellings went to 212 girls in 2025.

SpellingBabies 2025Official rankBabies 2021–2025
Rae171#1,3061,002
Rea24#5,363117
Raye17#6,76975

Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.

How many kids will share the name Rea?

24 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rea (0.01 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Rea born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 347 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rea.

Chance of another Rea in a class of 20under 1 in 50US, born 2025

Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.

How old are people named Rea?

About 1,200 people born in the US named Rea are alive today, with a median age of 41; half are between 18 and 66. That makes Rea mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.

0–910–1920–2930–3940–4950–5960–6970–7980–8990+
Estimated people alive in the US with the name, by age, mid-2026. The darker bar holds the median age.

Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.

Rea by state

How common Rea was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in New York (4.2×). In 49 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.

Alaska: fewer than 5 a yearAK–Maine: fewer than 5 a yearME–Wisconsin: fewer than 5 a yearWI–Vermont: fewer than 5 a yearVT–New Hampshire: fewer than 5 a yearNH–Washington: fewer than 5 a yearWA–Idaho: fewer than 5 a yearID–Montana: fewer than 5 a yearMT–North Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearND–Minnesota: fewer than 5 a yearMN–Illinois: fewer than 5 a yearIL–Michigan: fewer than 5 a yearMI–New York: 0.06 per 1,000 babiesNY0.06Massachusetts: fewer than 5 a yearMA–Oregon: fewer than 5 a yearOR–Nevada: fewer than 5 a yearNV–Wyoming: fewer than 5 a yearWY–South Dakota: fewer than 5 a yearSD–Iowa: fewer than 5 a yearIA–Indiana: fewer than 5 a yearIN–Ohio: fewer than 5 a yearOH–Pennsylvania: fewer than 5 a yearPA–New Jersey: fewer than 5 a yearNJ–Connecticut: 0.09 per 1,000 babiesCT0.09Rhode Island: fewer than 5 a yearRI–California: fewer than 5 a yearCA–Utah: fewer than 5 a yearUT–Colorado: fewer than 5 a yearCO–Nebraska: fewer than 5 a yearNE–Missouri: fewer than 5 a yearMO–Kentucky: fewer than 5 a yearKY–West Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearWV–Virginia: fewer than 5 a yearVA–Maryland: fewer than 5 a yearMD–Delaware: fewer than 5 a yearDE–Arizona: fewer than 5 a yearAZ–New Mexico: fewer than 5 a yearNM–Kansas: fewer than 5 a yearKS–Arkansas: fewer than 5 a yearAR–Tennessee: fewer than 5 a yearTN–North Carolina: fewer than 5 a yearNC–South Carolina: fewer than 5 a yearSC–District of Columbia: fewer than 5 a yearDC–Oklahoma: fewer than 5 a yearOK–Louisiana: fewer than 5 a yearLA–Mississippi: fewer than 5 a yearMS–Alabama: fewer than 5 a yearAL–Georgia: fewer than 5 a yearGA–Hawaii: fewer than 5 a yearHI–Texas: fewer than 5 a yearTX–Florida: fewer than 5 a yearFL–
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex, Rea, girls, 2021–2025. Darker means more common.

Names with a similar history

These names rose and fell in step with Rea: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rea, they share its era and feel.

Questions about the name Rea

What does Rea mean?

Rea is a spelling of Rae, which means “short form of Rachel; or Scottish surname” (English, Scottish, Hebrew origin). Certainty: probable.

How popular is the name Rea?

Rea was the 5363rd most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 24 babies. Its best year was 1910, when it ranked 1102nd; the most babies were born in 1958 (29). Over the last ten years it has moved up 2,550 places. More babies were named Rea in the 1920s than in any other decade.

Is Rea a boy or girl name?

In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Rea in the US.

Where is Rea most popular?

In 2021–2025, Rea was most common in Connecticut (0.09 per 1,000 girls), followed by New York and New York.