Fun Facts About the Name Reaves
- 34 babies named Reaves: U.S. records list 34 babies given the name Reaves from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Reaves Mean?
Reaves is an English surname now also used as a given name. Its meaning is "steward" or "bailiff," and it comes from Middle English reve, the word for a local official who managed an estate, a manor, or a town on behalf of a lord. That Middle English term descends from Old English gerēfa, the administrative title used in Anglo-Saxon England for such an official.
The ending -s is one of the most common endings on English surnames. It can mark a patronymic, giving the sense "son of Reeve," but in many surnames it is simply an added -s with no possessive meaning, and Reaves can be understood either way. Both explanations are offered for this group of names, and which one fits a particular family is generally not known.
Reaves Name History & Origins
In Anglo-Saxon England a gerēfa was a royal or local officer. The scirgerēfa, or shire reeve, acted for the king in a shire and is the source of the modern word sheriff; town reeves and port reeves handled borough business. After the Norman Conquest, the reeve stayed a familiar figure as the manor official who oversaw a lord's land, collected rents, and directed the work of tenants.
English surnames taken from occupations became widespread in the later Middle Ages, and the reeve's office produced a cluster of family names: Reeve, Reve, and the forms with -s, Reeves and Reaves. Reaves is one of several spellings of the same surname; spellings were not fixed in earlier centuries, so Reeve, Reeves, Reaves, and similar forms often appear for the same family over time. The name is also found in the United States, brought by English-descended families and used there as a surname.
Its use as a first name follows the broad English-speaking practice of turning surnames into given names. Reaves remains much more common as a last name than as a first name. It is not related to the similar-looking surname Rives, which is generally a topographic name from the Old French word for a riverbank.
How Popular is the Name Reaves?
Reaves has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 2025. Its best rank was #4,093 in 1926.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #8,101 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2024 | #11,985 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 2023 | #11,931 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1926 | #4,093 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1924 | #4,251 | 6 | 0.0005% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Reaves Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are a law unto itself. Your tendency is to finish whatever you start. You are tolerant and like to help humanity. You are very active. You are generally warmhearted and gives freely of your time, energy, and sympathetic understanding. You have tolerance and acceptance of the frailties of others. Universal and humanitarian in outlook. This is very compassionate name. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.
You are very intuitive. You have a reservoir of inspired wisdom combined with inherited analytical ability, which could reward you through expressions of spiritual leadership, business analysis, marketing, artistic visions, and scientific research. Operating on spiritual side of your individuality can bring you to the great heights, and drop you off if you neglect your spiritual identity. You are always looking for an opportunity to investigate the unknown, to use and show your mental abilities, to find the purpose and meaning of life. You want to grow wise and to understand people and things. You need privacy to replenish your energy. You have a unique way of thinking, intuitive, reflective, absorbing.
✦ Reaves's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Reaves's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.