Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 2019

Rei

Meaning Rei is both a Japanese given name and a Hebrew given name Gender Unisex · 54% girls Rank 2025 #5,364 Trend ↓ Falling 31%

Rei is both a Japanese given name and a Hebrew given name.

Rank 2025
#5,364
among girls · ↓367 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
59
named Rei · +5% vs 2024
How common
1 in 66,969
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2019
67 babies
All-time total
1,028
#11,166 all-time among girls
First recorded
1974
in Social Security records

Rei popularity over time

1,028 babies have been named Rei since 1974, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.010.020.030.0418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – – – – – –
1920s – – – – – –
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – – – – – –
1950s – – – – – –
1960s – – – – – –
1970s 5 – 5 1 – #9,820
1980s 20 5 25 3 +400% #10,092
1990s 27 31 58 6 +132% #10,142
2000s 101 123 224 22 +286% #7,909
2010s 217 167 384 38 +71% #3,829
2020s (to 2025) 180 152 332 55 +44% #3,269

Where Rei is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 23 0.01 outside top 500
2027 22 0.01 outside top 500
2028 21 0.01 outside top 500
2029 20 0.01 outside top 500
2030 20 0.01 outside top 500

The story of Rei

Rei is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #5,364 in 2025 with 24 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1974, 1,028 American babies have been named Rei, about 54% girls and 46% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2019, when 67 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Rei stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rei?

The median living Rei is about 8 years old; half are between 4 and 18. An estimated 1,000 people named Rei are alive in the United States today.

median 8 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Rei year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 24 #5,364 35 #3,363
2024 27 #4,997 29 #3,874
2023 27 #4,968 19 #5,203
2022 21 #5,940 19 #5,175
2021 33 #4,304 34 #3,404
2020 48 #3,269 16 #5,643
2019 37 #3,985 30 #3,698
2018 33 #4,328 28 #3,865
2017 40 #3,829 22 #4,565
2016 27 #5,098 14 #6,277
2015 13 #8,844 21 #4,673
2014 5 #18,627 9 #8,639
2013 11 #10,107 6 #11,841
2012 16 #7,718 8 #9,514
2011 21 #6,297 14 #6,182
2010 14 #8,618 15 #5,972
2009 9 #12,232 13 #6,728
2008 10 #11,425 21 #4,670
2007 15 #8,436 14 #6,195
2006 8 #13,345 8 #9,372
2005 13 #8,756 8 #8,925
2004 13 #8,612 13 #6,066
2003 14 #7,909 16 #4,990
2002 12 #8,710 12 #5,996
2001 7 #13,168 8 #8,149
2000 – – 10 #6,719
1995 6 #12,994 – –
1990 7 #11,080 – –
1985 – – – –
1980 – – – –
1975 – – – –
1970 – – – –
1965 – – – –
1960 – – – –
1955 – – – –
1950 – – – –
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rei

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Rei Kawakubo Japanese fashion designer (born 1942) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rei Sakuma Japanese actress (born 1965) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rei Higuchi Rei Higuchi Japanese freestyle wrestler (born 1996) Contemporary
  4. 4 Rei Hirakawa Japanese footballer b. 2000 · Contemporary
  5. 5 Rei Matsumoto Japanese footballer (born 1988) Contemporary
  6. 6 Rei Yonezawa Japanese footballer b. 1996 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Rei, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Rei?

The median living Rei is about 8 years old. Half of all living Reis are between 4 and 18 years old.

How many people named Rei are alive today?

An estimated 1,000 people named Rei are alive in the United States, based on 1,028 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rei mean?

Rei is both a Japanese given name and a Hebrew given name.

How popular is the name Rei in 2025?

Rei ranked #5,364 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 24 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rei?

1,028 babies have been named Rei in the United States since 1974, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rei most popular?

Rei peaked in 2019, when 67 newborns received the name.

Is Rei a boy or girl name?

Rei is used for both: about 54% of babies named Rei have been girls and 46% boys.

Is the name Rei rising or falling?

Rei is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Rei become more popular?

Rei is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 20 girls named Rei in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rei?

Well-known people named Rei include Rei Kawakubo (politician), Rei Sakuma (actor), Rei Higuchi (wrestler).

Names like Rei

Names that sound and feel close to Rei: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Rei with similar names → More names starting with R →