Unisex name ★ peaked 2024

Rhys

Meaning Borrowed from Welsh Rhys Gender Unisex · 6% girls Rank 2025 #412 Trend ↑ Rising 36%

Borrowed from Welsh Rhys. Doublet of Price, Reece, Rees, Reese, and Rice.

Rank 2025
#412
among boys · ↓59 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
816
named Rhys · -18% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,195
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2024
995 babies
All-time total
15,221
#998 all-time among boys
First recorded
1929
in Social Security records

Rhys popularity over time

15,221 babies have been named Rhys since 1929, 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
0.190.380.560.7518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 – 8 8 1 – #3,193
1930s – – – – – –
1940s – 27 27 3 – #2,659
1950s – 105 105 11 +289% #2,004
1960s – 111 111 11 +6% #2,127
1970s – 86 86 9 -23% #2,219
1980s – 314 314 31 +265% #1,587
1990s 44 696 740 74 +136% #1,140
2000s 228 2,215 2,443 244 +230% #578
2010s 318 5,915 6,233 623 +155% #440
2020s (to 2025) 297 4,857 5,154 859 +38% #353

Where Rhys is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 815 0.48 #390
2027 847 0.50 #375
2028 876 0.51 #368
2029 901 0.53 #363
2030 923 0.54 #356

Where Rhys is most popular

Boys named Rhys per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.480 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Rhys born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Delaware 32 2.11 +340%
Pennsylvania 364 1.37 +186%
Hawaii 16 1.03 +115%
New Hampshire 21 0.946 +97%
Virginia 177 0.933 +94%
Rhode Island 15 0.920 +92%
Oregon 69 0.909 +89%
New Jersey 176 0.874 +82%
Massachusetts 111 0.807 +68%
Vermont 5 0.796 +66%
Maryland 90 0.755 +57%
Colorado 95 0.736 +53%
Washington 113 0.691 +44%
Idaho 28 0.684 +43%
Maine 13 0.670 +40%
Minnesota 79 0.644 +34%
Wisconsin 76 0.642 +34%
Kansas 44 0.641 +34%
Indiana 98 0.611 +27%
Illinois 153 0.599 +25%
Louisiana 59 0.577 +20%
Utah 55 0.576 +20%
Connecticut 39 0.576 +20%
North Carolina 136 0.533 +11%
New York 229 0.529 +10%
Arkansas 33 0.521 +9%
Michigan 106 0.518 +8%
Ohio 133 0.502 +5%
Kentucky 49 0.488 ≈ national
Iowa 33 0.479 ≈ national
Arizona 78 0.477 ≈ national
Oklahoma 42 0.475 ≈ national
Nevada 27 0.474 ≈ national
Missouri 62 0.447 -7%
California 379 0.415 -14%
Florida 196 0.414 -14%
North Dakota 7 0.410 -15%
Tennessee 70 0.388 -19%
Georgia 90 0.355 -26%
Montana 6 0.340 -29%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -29%
South Carolina 35 0.339 -29%
West Virginia 11 0.337 -30%
Texas 275 0.312 -35%
Nebraska 12 0.276 -42%
South Dakota 5 0.269 -44%
Alabama 29 0.265 -45%
Mississippi 6 0.106 -78%
Alaska – – –
New Mexico – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Rhys

Rhys is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #412 in 2025 with 778 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1929, 15,221 American babies have been named Rhys, about 94% boys and 6% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 2024, when 995 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Rhys stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Rhys?

The median living Rhys is about 9 years old; half are between 4 and 15. An estimated 15 thousand people named Rhys are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

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

Rhys 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 38 #3,892 778 #412
2024 43 #3,633 952 #353
2023 61 #2,816 931 #353
2022 62 #2,780 733 #426
2021 55 #3,029 750 #413
2020 38 #3,828 713 #419
2019 37 #3,986 692 #440
2018 31 #4,539 627 #463
2017 30 #4,674 619 #477
2016 22 #5,946 612 #495
2015 22 #5,989 560 #514
2014 30 #4,748 580 #485
2013 26 #5,285 560 #490
2012 39 #3,978 576 #475
2011 39 #3,899 539 #487
2010 42 #3,736 550 #471
2009 23 #6,053 456 #578
2008 33 #4,623 359 #676
2007 41 #3,903 263 #811
2006 20 #6,549 205 #925
2005 20 #6,190 177 #984
2004 23 #5,512 180 #941
2003 14 #7,911 152 #1,038
2002 19 #6,075 144 #1,059
2001 20 #5,765 145 #1,022
2000 15 #7,077 134 #1,068
1995 – – 62 #1,545
1990 – – 51 #1,629
1985 – – 41 #1,587
1980 – – 27 #2,042
1975 – – 10 #3,613
1970 – – 10 #3,240
1965 – – 8 #3,192
1960 – – 14 #2,294
1955 – – 15 #2,117
1950 – – 7 #3,262
1945 – – – –
1940 – – – –
1935 – – – –
1930 – – – –
1925 – – – –
1920 – – – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Rhys

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

  1. 1 Rhys Ifans Rhys Ifans Welsh actor and musician (born 1967) Contemporary
  2. 2 Rhys Darby Rhys Darby New Zealand actor and comedian (born 1974) Contemporary
  3. 3 Rhys Wakefield Rhys Wakefield Australian actor b. 1988 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd Prince of Deheubarth from 1155 to 1197 1132–1197 · Medieval
  5. 5 Rhys Chatham Rhys Chatham American composer b. 1952 · Contemporary
  6. 6 Rhys Williams Rhys Williams British hurdling athlete b. 1984 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Rhys?

The median living Rhys is about 9 years old. Half of all living Rhyss are between 4 and 15 years old.

How many people named Rhys are alive today?

An estimated 15 thousand people named Rhys are alive in the United States, based on 15,221 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Rhys mean?

Borrowed from Welsh Rhys. Doublet of Price, Reece, Rees, Reese, and Rice.

How popular is the name Rhys in 2025?

Rhys ranked #412 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 778 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Rhys?

15,221 babies have been named Rhys in the United States since 1929, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Rhys most popular?

Rhys peaked in 2024, when 995 newborns received the name.

Is Rhys a boy or girl name?

Rhys is used for both: about 6% of babies named Rhys have been girls and 94% boys.

Is the name Rhys rising or falling?

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

Will Rhys become more popular?

Rhys is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 923 boys named Rhys in 2030, which would rank around #356. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Rhys?

Well-known people named Rhys include Rhys Ifans (actor), Rhys Darby (actor), Rhys Wakefield (actor).

Names like Rhys

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

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