Girls' name · since 1882
Rhea
19,737 babies named Rhea in U.S. Social Security records since 1882, with the highest year being 2023. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #1,078 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #639 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 19,737
- born since 1882
- 2020s
- peak decade
19,737 babies have been named Rhea since 1882, making it today's #639 girls' name.
Rhea has 19,737 recorded births among girls since 1882, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #639 as of the latest data, more common than 96% of girls, busiest in the 2020s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #1,078 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #639 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 19,737 born since 1882
- 2020s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Rhea ranks #1,078 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #639 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 19,737 born since 1882, peaking in the 2020s.
- #1,078 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #639 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 19,737
- born since 1882
- 2020s
- peak decade
Rhea's 19,737 recorded births place it above 98.5% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
44 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Rhea compares
19,737 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Rhea's all-time total is 52x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Rhea | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 19,737 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 577 | 21 | 19,840 |
Rhea's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Rhea's full recorded timeline at 1954, 66% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 34% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1882, with just 7 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 2023 peak of 577 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Rhea popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (2023)
- 577
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Rhea popularity over time - boys
408 total births recorded since 1896 (Rhea as boys' name)
Rhea by decade
2020s is the heaviest window (2,965 births, 15% of the file).
2020s was Rhea's strongest decade.
2,965 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.
Rhea births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 117
1880s
117 births
- 1890s 476
1890s
476 births
- 1900s 542
1900s
542 births
- 1910s
1910s
1,352 births
- 1920s
1920s
1,567 births
- 1930s 1,092
1930s
1,092 births
- 1940s 1,137
1940s
1,137 births
- 1950s
1950s
1,248 births
- 1960s 1,055
1960s
1,055 births
- 1970s 990
1970s
990 births
- 1980s
1980s
1,244 births
- 1990s 1,174
1990s
1,174 births
- 2000s
2000s
2,042 births
- 2010s
2010s
2,736 births
- 2020s
2020s
2,965 births
What this shows Peak: 2020s at 2,965 births (15% of all-time use).
How Rhea compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Rhea's total volume
Rhea by state
Where Rhea concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 1,916 | 9.7% |
| #2 | New York | | 1,526 | 7.7% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 1,014 | 5.1% |
| #4 | Texas | | 965 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 958 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 786 | 4.0% |
| #7 | Illinois | | 776 | 3.9% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 487 | 2.5% |
1,916 of 19,737 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 44 reporting states.
Rhea appears in 44 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Rhea? ▼
Where does Rhea sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Rhea most popular? ▼
Where is Rhea most popular? ▼
How long has the name Rhea been used? ▼
What names are similar to Rhea? ▼
What to do with Rhea's data
- California records the most Rheas (1,916 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Rhea
Nearby Names Like Rhea
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Rhea
Compare Rhea side by side: Rhea vs Rheanna Rhea vs Rhema Rhea vs Rheba
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Rhea
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Rhea: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2023)
Similar record span (~143 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1882–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Rhea draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.