Rea
Rea was given to 24 girls in 2025, #5,362 among girls’ names; 2,063 Americans have been recorded with it since 1892 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 1,230 Americans named Rea and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (59% of everyone recorded); the median is 43 years old and half are between 19 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Rea by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Rea mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Rea is “a female given name.”
/ɹeɪ/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Rea?
#5,362 among girls’ names, 2025
Rea rose from #7,909 in 2015 to #5,362 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 8.4 to 14.9 per million.
34 babies in 1958, the peak
Rea peaked in 1958, when 34 babies were given it (29 girls, #2,105 among girls’ names). The 24 births of 2025 are 71% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 24 | #5,362 | 14.9 |
| 2024 | 17 | #6,870 | 10.5 |
| 2023 | 26 | #5,094 | 16.2 |
| 2022 | 23 | #5,590 | 14.0 |
| 2021 | 27 | #4,926 | 16.5 |
| 2020 | 21 | #5,809 | 13.0 |
| 2019 | 20 | #6,131 | 11.9 |
| 2018 | 15 | #7,678 | 8.8 |
| 2017 | 18 | #6,743 | 10.4 |
| 2016 | 23 | #5,760 | 13.0 |
Every recorded year (125)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per million girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 15 | #7,909 | 8.4 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,860 | 7.3 |
| 2013 | 8 | #12,904 | 4.6 |
| 2012 | 14 | #8,532 | 7.9 |
| 2011 | 8 | #13,102 | 4.5 |
| 2010 | 6 | #16,516 | 3.4 |
| 2009 | 11 | #10,511 | 6.0 |
| 2008 | 13 | #9,370 | 6.9 |
| 2007 | 11 | #10,659 | 5.7 |
| 2006 | 18 | #7,078 | 9.5 |
| 2005 | 14 | #8,233 | 7.6 |
| 2004 | 17 | #7,021 | 9.3 |
| 2003 | 12 | #8,934 | 6.6 |
| 2002 | 23 | #5,229 | 12.8 |
| 2001 | 19 | #6,013 | 10.6 |
| 2000 | 17 | #6,409 | 9.4 |
| 1999 | 16 | #6,414 | 9.0 |
| 1998 | 17 | #6,003 | 9.6 |
| 1997 | 13 | #7,177 | 7.5 |
| 1996 | 13 | #7,039 | 7.4 |
| 1995 | 10 | #8,585 | 5.7 |
| 1994 | 11 | #8,008 | 6.2 |
| 1993 | 8 | #10,319 | 4.4 |
| 1992 | 14 | #6,564 | 7.6 |
| 1991 | 16 | #5,865 | 8.5 |
| 1990 | 11 | #7,726 | 5.8 |
| 1989 | 9 | #8,559 | 4.9 |
| 1987 | 11 | #6,660 | 6.3 |
| 1986 | 13 | #5,676 | 7.6 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,342 | 6.4 |
| 1984 | 9 | #7,259 | 5.3 |
| 1983 | 12 | #5,726 | 7.2 |
| 1982 | 12 | #5,803 | 7.1 |
| 1981 | 17 | #4,478 | 10.2 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,813 | 7.2 |
| 1979 | 17 | #4,370 | 10.6 |
| 1978 | 10 | #6,277 | 6.5 |
| 1977 | 15 | #4,588 | 9.8 |
| 1976 | 13 | #4,829 | 8.9 |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,969 | 5.5 |
| 1974 | 16 | #3,985 | 10.9 |
| 1973 | 15 | #4,115 | 10.3 |
| 1972 | 12 | #4,726 | 7.9 |
| 1971 | 12 | #4,748 | 7.2 |
| 1970 | 11 | #4,990 | 6.3 |
| 1969 | 9 | #5,351 | 5.3 |
| 1968 | 11 | #4,427 | 6.7 |
| 1967 | 13 | #3,790 | 7.9 |
| 1966 | 10 | #4,409 | 5.9 |
| 1965 | 19 | #2,902 | 10.8 |
| 1964 | 17 | #3,206 | 9.0 |
| 1963 | 12 | #3,974 | 6.2 |
| 1962 | 17 | #3,132 | 8.6 |
| 1961 | 18 | #3,037 | 8.9 |
| 1960 | 11 | #4,106 | 5.4 |
| 1959 | 21 | #2,573 | 10.4 |
| 1958 | 29 | #2,105 | 14.4 |
| 1957 | 14 | #3,265 | 6.8 |
| 1956 | 25 | #2,234 | 12.5 |
| 1955 | 20 | #2,529 | 10.2 |
| 1954 | 21 | #2,431 | 10.8 |
| 1953 | 20 | #2,412 | 10.6 |
| 1952 | 22 | #2,250 | 11.9 |
| 1951 | 18 | #2,454 | 10.0 |
| 1950 | 18 | #2,411 | 10.5 |
| 1949 | 22 | #2,117 | 12.9 |
| 1948 | 15 | #2,678 | 8.8 |
| 1947 | 24 | #2,032 | 13.5 |
| 1946 | 18 | #2,294 | 11.5 |
| 1945 | 12 | #2,711 | 9.2 |
| 1944 | 11 | #2,909 | 8.3 |
| 1943 | 16 | #2,330 | 11.5 |
| 1942 | 17 | #2,185 | 12.6 |
| 1941 | 10 | #2,994 | 8.3 |
| 1940 | 15 | #2,188 | 13.1 |
| 1939 | 16 | #2,109 | 14.6 |
| 1938 | 17 | #2,005 | 15.4 |
| 1937 | 14 | #2,291 | 13.2 |
| 1936 | 15 | #2,128 | 14.4 |
| 1935 | 20 | #1,768 | 19.1 |
| 1934 | 12 | #2,540 | 11.5 |
| 1933 | 20 | #1,762 | 19.8 |
| 1932 | 23 | #1,619 | 21.6 |
| 1931 | 15 | #2,189 | 14.1 |
| 1930 | 18 | #2,005 | 16.0 |
| 1929 | 21 | #1,809 | 18.8 |
| 1928 | 18 | #2,080 | 15.6 |
| 1927 | 19 | #2,081 | 15.9 |
| 1926 | 20 | #1,983 | 16.9 |
| 1925 | 11 | #3,080 | 9.0 |
| 1924 | 22 | #1,911 | 17.6 |
| 1923 | 19 | #2,076 | 15.7 |
| 1922 | 17 | #2,268 | 14.2 |
| 1921 | 17 | #2,267 | 13.8 |
| 1920 | 19 | #2,061 | 15.9 |
| 1919 | 10 | #3,178 | 8.8 |
| 1918 | 18 | #2,086 | 15.5 |
| 1917 | 11 | #2,839 | 10.2 |
| 1916 | 16 | #2,110 | 15.3 |
| 1915 | 13 | #2,359 | 13.2 |
| 1914 | 22 | #1,376 | 28.9 |
| 1913 | 15 | #1,588 | 24.0 |
| 1912 | 11 | #1,816 | 19.7 |
| 1911 | 7 | #2,153 | 16.7 |
| 1910 | 17 | #1,102 | 42.9 |
| 1909 | 12 | #1,270 | 34.6 |
| 1908 | 8 | #1,652 | 23.9 |
| 1907 | 13 | #1,128 | 40.8 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,120 | 18.2 |
| 1903 | 5 | #2,023 | 19.1 |
| 1901 | 6 | #1,631 | 25.1 |
| 1900 | 8 | #1,538 | 26.7 |
| 1898 | 10 | #1,161 | 38.6 |
| 1893 | 6 | #1,403 | 28.2 |
| 1892 | 5 | #1,627 | 23.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Rea a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 2,063 Americans recorded as Rea, 91% are girls and 9% boys. In 2025 it went to 24 girls; SSA lists no boys with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Rea: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Rea, and how old are they?
1,230 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 59% of the 2,063 Americans ever recorded as Rea. The median Rea alive today is 43 years old; half are between 19 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 1,718 people named Rea (1,549 women and girls, 169 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 1,203 born in the U.S. The Census count is 43% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census records the name people give, which for many is the short form Rea rather than the name on their birth record, and it counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 91 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 296 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 188 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 172 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 226 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 249 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 27,758 babies since 1880, Rea is the third most given (7.4% of them). In 2025 it was given to 24 of their 851 babies (2.8%), the fifth most given that year.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Rea
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Rea and names like it
- Compare Rea and RheaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sRea peaked in 1958.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Rea since 1910.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Rea.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Rea alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with RMost given first.