Fun Facts About the Name Rhys
- More than 15 thousand babies named Rhys: U.S. records list 15,212 babies given the name Rhys from 1880 through 2025. Even 887 girls received the name Rhys - about 1 girl for every 16 boys.
What Does the Name Rhys Mean?
Rhys is a Welsh name used both as a given name and as a surname. It comes from the Welsh noun rhys, usually translated as "ardour" or "enthusiasm" and also glossed as "impetuosity" or "rashness." The related noun rhysedd means "excess," and the prefix rhy- means "over" or "too much," which suggests the original idea was a rushing forward or an overflow of feeling rather than calm keenness. The exact development of the noun behind the name is not fully settled, so the literal sense is best treated as probable rather than certain.
Rhys Name History & Origins
Rhys is one of the older Welsh personal names. It appears in medieval Latin records as Resus, and the older Welsh spelling Ris is also found. Rhys ap Tewdwr was a king of Deheubarth in south Wales who was killed in 1093, and his grandson Rhys ap Gruffydd, known as the Lord Rhys, ruled Deheubarth in the late twelfth century and held a gathering of poets and musicians at Cardigan Castle in 1176, an event often linked to the later eisteddfod tradition.
The surname Rhys and its anglicized spellings grew out of Welsh patronymics. Ap Rhys means "son of Rhys," and as Welsh families fixed hereditary surnames - a process largely completed between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries - forms such as Price, Pryce, and Preece came from ap Rhys, while Rees, Reece, and Reese came from Rhys itself. As a given name, Rhys has stayed common in Wales and is now also used in England and the United States, often in the anglicized spellings.
How Popular is the Name Rhys?
Rhys recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2024. Its best rank was #353 in 2023.
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 | #3,892 | 38 | 0.0024% |
| 2024 | #3,622 | 43 | 0.0027% |
| 2023 | #2,813 | 61 | 0.0038% |
| 2022 | #2,780 | 62 | 0.0038% |
| 2021 | #3,028 | 55 | 0.0034% |
| 2020 | #3,827 | 38 | 0.0024% |
| 2019 | #3,986 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2018 | #4,538 | 31 | 0.0018% |
| 2017 | #4,670 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2016 | #5,946 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2015 | #5,986 | 22 | 0.0012% |
| 2014 | #4,748 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 2013 | #5,285 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2012 | #3,978 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2011 | #3,899 | 39 | 0.0022% |
| 2010 | #3,734 | 42 | 0.0024% |
| 2009 | #6,052 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2008 | #4,622 | 33 | 0.0017% |
| 2007 | #3,902 | 41 | 0.0021% |
| 2006 | #6,549 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2005 | #6,190 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2004 | #5,512 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 2003 | #7,911 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #6,075 | 19 | 0.0011% |
| 2001 | #5,764 | 20 | 0.0011% |
| 2000 | #7,076 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1999 | #6,422 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 1998 | #12,107 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1997 | #10,580 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1996 | #10,312 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1994 | #15,193 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #412 | 778 | 0.0455% |
| 2024 | #354 | 946 | 0.0552% |
| 2023 | #353 | 930 | 0.0544% |
| 2022 | #426 | 733 | 0.0420% |
| 2021 | #413 | 750 | 0.0429% |
| 2020 | #419 | 713 | 0.0413% |
| 2019 | #440 | 692 | 0.0386% |
| 2018 | #463 | 627 | 0.0345% |
| 2017 | #477 | 618 | 0.0334% |
| 2016 | #494 | 612 | 0.0323% |
| 2015 | #514 | 560 | 0.0292% |
| 2014 | #485 | 580 | 0.0302% |
| 2013 | #490 | 560 | 0.0296% |
| 2012 | #475 | 576 | 0.0304% |
| 2011 | #487 | 539 | 0.0284% |
| 2010 | #471 | 550 | 0.0287% |
| 2009 | #578 | 456 | 0.0230% |
| 2008 | #676 | 359 | 0.0176% |
| 2007 | #818 | 262 | 0.0126% |
| 2006 | #925 | 205 | 0.0100% |
| 2005 | #983 | 177 | 0.0089% |
| 2004 | #941 | 180 | 0.0091% |
| 2003 | #1,038 | 152 | 0.0077% |
| 2002 | #1,059 | 144 | 0.0074% |
| 2001 | #1,022 | 145 | 0.0075% |
| 2000 | #1,068 | 134 | 0.0068% |
| 1999 | #1,140 | 116 | 0.0060% |
| 1998 | #1,245 | 98 | 0.0051% |
| 1997 | #1,420 | 77 | 0.0041% |
| 1996 | #1,397 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 1995 | #1,545 | 62 | 0.0033% |
| 1994 | #1,630 | 57 | 0.0030% |
| 1993 | #1,415 | 68 | 0.0035% |
| 1992 | #2,031 | 39 | 0.0020% |
| 1991 | #1,627 | 52 | 0.0026% |
| 1990 | #1,629 | 51 | 0.0025% |
| 1989 | #2,192 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1988 | #1,728 | 41 | 0.0021% |
| 1987 | #1,704 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 1986 | #2,044 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1985 | #1,588 | 41 | 0.0022% |
| 1984 | #1,876 | 30 | 0.0017% |
| 1983 | #2,257 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1982 | #2,047 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1981 | #2,187 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 1980 | #2,042 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1979 | #2,219 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1978 | #5,615 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1977 | #4,491 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1976 | #5,464 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1975 | #3,613 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1974 | #5,834 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1973 | #3,170 | 11 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #4,293 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1970 | #3,240 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1969 | #2,825 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #2,875 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1967 | #3,481 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1966 | #2,936 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1965 | #3,191 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #2,388 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1963 | #2,392 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1962 | #2,810 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 1961 | #2,126 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1960 | #2,291 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1959 | #4,455 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1958 | #2,612 | 11 | 0.0005% |
| 1957 | #2,983 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 1956 | #2,004 | 17 | 0.0008% |
| 1955 | #2,117 | 15 | 0.0007% |
| 1954 | #2,294 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1953 | #2,502 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1952 | #2,479 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 1951 | #3,645 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,262 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1949 | #2,976 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1948 | #4,082 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #2,659 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1941 | #3,912 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1929 | #3,193 | 8 | 0.0007% |
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 Rhys 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 are inventive, intuitive and extremely methodical. Since your will is so strong, you are hard to convince. You also dislike advice. You love beauty and philosophy, and you desire achievement. You have a strong need for freedom - physical, mental and spiritual.
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.
✦ Rhys's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Rhys's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.