Rhett
Rhett was the 188th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,936 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 149th with 2,538 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 88 places. More babies were named Rhett in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning advice (from Dutch de Raedt) · Dutch
Say it RET /rɛt/
- Rank in 2025
- #188 boys, down 29 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,936boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20212,538 babies
- Total since 1880
- 36,920babies recorded
What does the name Rhett mean?
Rhett comes from the surname of a South Carolina family, an English spelling of the Dutch surname de Raedt. Wiktionary and Wikipedia both derive it from Middle Dutch raet, 'advice, counsel'. The name was made famous by Rhett Butler, the hero of Margaret Mitchell's novel Gone with the Wind (1936) and its 1939 film, which Wikipedia credits with popularizing it.
raet (Middle Dutch, “advice, counsel”)
How sure is this? Probable.
Related names: Rhet, Everett.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean wisdom.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Rhett', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Rhett', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Rhett popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 251 since 1995, 19 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #188 | 1,936 |
| 2020 | #159 | 2,350 |
| 2010 | #608 | 411 |
| 2000 | #676 | 264 |
| 1990 | #840 | 150 |
| 1980 | #704 | 153 |
| 1970 | #649 | 159 |
| 1960 | #936 | 66 |
| 1950 | #1,216 | 36 |
| 1940 | #1,305 | 27 |
| 1930 | — | — |
| 1920 | #4,838 | 5 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Rhett, counting every spelling?
Rhett is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #202 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #188 for Rhett on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,944 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhett | 1,936 | #188 | 11,302 |
| Rhet | 8 | #9,516 | 41 |
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 Rhett?
1,936 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Rhett (0.54 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Rhett 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 4 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Rhett.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Rhett?
About 35,600 people born in the US named Rhett are alive today, with a median age of 8; half are between 5 and 17. That makes Rhett a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Rhett by state
How common Rhett was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (4.8×), South Dakota (4.2×), Montana (4.0×), Wyoming (4.0×), Vermont (3.0×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Rhett: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Rhett, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Rhett · Sibling names for Rhett
Rhett is also a nickname for Everett and Garrett.
Questions about the name Rhett
What does Rhett mean?
Rhett means “advice (from Dutch de Raedt)” (Dutch origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Rhett?
Rhett was the 188th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 1,936 babies. Its best year was 2021, when it ranked 149th with 2,538 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 88 places. More babies were named Rhett in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Rhett a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Rhett in the US.
Where is Rhett most popular?
In 2021–2025, Rhett was most common in North Dakota (6.33 per 1,000 boys), followed by South Dakota and Montana.