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Rea

#5,362 in 2025UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Literal meaning not recorded

Rea has been given to 2,063 babies in the U.S. since 1892. In 2025 it ranked #5,362 of 17,293 girls’ names in use. Its peak year was 1958, with 29 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 91% girls, 9% boys all-time.

Babies named Rea, 2025

1 in 138,000

Rea over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys
010203018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Rea over time

In 2025, Rea went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18922025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Rea: meaning, origin, and history

Literal meaning not recorded

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Rea means

Rea is a given name.

Origin, language, and formation

Rea is used in English.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Rea is pronounced /ɹeɪ/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 1,873 girls were recorded with the name Rea between 1892 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 29 in 1958; its best national rank was #1,102 in 1910.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #5,809 in 2020 to #5,362 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,909 in 2015 to #5,362 in 2025.

In the United States, 190 boys were recorded with the name Rea between 1912 and 1958. Its highest annual count was 14 in 1918; its best national rank was #2,239 in 1918.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Rea?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 138,000
24 of 3,315,165 births
Among girls only
1 in 67,000
<0.01% of girls
Rank, 2025
#5,362
of 17,293 girls’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
95,747 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Rea sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 95,747 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Rea. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Reas were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Rea was born before 1959 — so the typical Rea is around 66 today.

Median birth year
1959
About 66 years old
Biggest decade
1950s
11.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
22.2%
Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950
1,142
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1950s — 11.1% of all recorded uses (208).

Is Rea rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+1,508
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+447
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+2,547
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.60×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
82.8%
Peak was 1958 (29)
Years since peak
67
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
31.9% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,102
1910

Where Rea is used

Across 1910–2025, Rea was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 549,651 across all states with data. It was least common in Pennsylvania (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Connecticut1 in —
  3. 3New York1 in —
  4. 4Pennsylvania1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Rea has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Rea around the world

Where Rea ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #2,788
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1991–1991
    #634
    in 1991
  • Northern Ireland
    2006–2006
    #384
    in 2006
  • Ireland
    2016–2016
    #868
    in 2016
  • France
    2017–2023
    #7,199
    in 2023
  • Canada
    1999–2024
    #3,027
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1987–1987
    #684
    in 1987

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS, NISRA data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Rea by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#5,362
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 447
Best rank ever
#1,102
1910
Peak year
1958
29 that year
First recorded
1892
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,873
Count in 2025
24

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#2,239
1918
Peak year
1918
14 that year
First recorded
1912
Last recorded
1958
All-time count
190
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Rea

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ReahDreaBreaAureaReannaReaghanReanaReathaMareaReataReannReanneReagenAudreaRealityAdreaReatherAundreaNereaDesireaReasonOndreaReagynRealynn

Sibling names for Rea

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Rea

Top names of 1958, Rea's peak yearThe 1950s in fullOther names that peaked in 1910Girls' names starting with R