Rei
How to say it: RAY · /ˈreɪ/
Japanese 'beautiful, bell, spirit' by kanji - also Portuguese word for 'king'.
Rei was the 1,497th most popular boys’ name in the United States in 2025, given to 59 babies of either sex (Social Security Administration). The 2020s are its busiest decade so far, its births are up about 47% in ten years, and it is projected to slip to #1,556 by 2030.
Updated · SSA 2025 data, published May 2026 · How we compute these figures
Key facts
| Rank among boys’ names, 2025 | #1,497 |
|---|---|
| Babies born in 2025 (both sexes) | 59 |
| Share of births | 1 in 26,954 |
| Peak decade | 2020s |
| Change over 10 years | +47% |
| Projected rank for 2030 (estimate) | #1,556 |
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA). How we compute these figures.
Its life, decade by decade
Rei is a newcomer: almost all of its history is from the last forty years.
What goes with it
In the classroom
In a class of 25 children born in 2025, the chance that another child is called Rei is about under 1 in 200.
Around the world
This spelling is used in English, Japanese, Portuguese.
Famous people named Rei
- Rei Higuchi (born 1996)Japanese wrestler
- Rei Kawakubo (born 1942)Japanese fashion designer, business woman
- Rei Hance (born 1974)American actress and writer
From Wikidata and Wikipedia
Good to know
- In Portuguese and Galician 'rei' is the ordinary word for 'king' — heard as a title-word, not just a name
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