Remi

About Remi

Remi is an English form of French Rémi, from Latin Remigius and a word meaning “oarsman” or “rower.” It is also found independently in Yoruba short forms and Japanese names. Its recent American growth has been especially strong for girls, although the French source name is masculine.

The French name family

Rémi and Rémy are French forms of Remigius, traditionally connected with Latin remigis, “oarsman.” Italian and Spanish Remigio belong to the same family. English Remi usually omits the French accent, while Remy offers another common spelling.

Saint Rémy, or Remigius, was the bishop associated with the conversion and baptism of Clovis, king of the Franks. That religious history helped give the French name a long life before its modern English-language popularity.

The French pronunciation is approximately ray-MEE, with the French r. In English, REM-ee is a familiar pronunciation. The two-syllable outline remains short, while the vowel sounds change between the languages.

Separate Yoruba and Japanese uses

Remi also occurs as a familiar form of Yoruba names such as Remilekun. This route is independent of the Latin oarsman name. The short form keeps the ending of a longer Yoruba personal name rather than adapting French Rémi.

Japanese Remi can be written with several combinations of characters, including 玲美 and 礼美. The meaning depends on the characters chosen, and the same Roman-letter spelling can therefore represent more than one Japanese written name.

These traditions explain why Remi cannot be assigned one translation across all its uses. The oarsman meaning belongs to the French-Latin line, while the other uses have their own histories.

Remi Wolf and contemporary music

American singer-songwriter Remi Wolf released her debut album Juno in October 2021 through Island Records. Her music combines pop songwriting with funk and other influences, and her earlier recordings included the EPs You're a Dog! and I'm Allergic to Dogs!.

Her second album, Big Ideas, followed in July 2024. Its release continued a recording career built around a distinctive vocal style and colorful pop production. Wolf gives the exact Remi spelling a visible contemporary musical association.

Her albums place the name on record covers and festival programs as a complete first name, alongside the longer-name traditions from which some other bearers use it as a shortening.

American popularity

The United States SSA recorded 66 girls and 25 boys named Remi in 2000. By 2010 the counts were 199 girls and 65 boys, followed by much stronger growth.

Girls reached their peak in 2022, with 2,392 and #118. Boys peaked in 2021, with 360 and #720. In 2025 the figures were 2,023 girls at #145 and 323 boys at #787. The two series show how widely the spelling has spread, with girls now the much larger American group.

How popular is Remi?

In 2025, Remi ranked #145 among girls in the United States, with 2,023 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1963; its largest annual count was 2,392 in 2022. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.