Rhys
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Meaning
"ardor, enthusiasm"
Say it: REESS
The story
Rhys is one of the oldest and proudest of Welsh names, from the Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning ardor or enthusiasm, the fire in a person rather than any quiet virtue. It was a name for rulers. Several medieval Welsh princes bore it, above all Rhys ap Gruffydd, the twelfth-century Lord Rhys who held the south against the invading Normans and kept a court famous for poetry and song. The same name lies behind the surnames Rees, Reece and Price, the last from ap Rhys, son of Rhys. Spelled in the spare Welsh way, all consonants and one bright vowel, Rhys has traveled far beyond Wales and reads as current as ever in the United States. It is short, strong and unmistakably Celtic, a single syllable of ardor with a prince behind it.
How popular is Rhys around the world?
In the United States, 5,154 babies were named Rhys between 2020 and 2025. In Ireland, 27 boys named Rhys were born in 2025, the 179th most common name among boys that year.
Rhys is on the official records of the United States, Ireland, Scotland, Canada, South Australia, New Zealand and England and Wales.
United States
1 in 4,200
In the United States, 5,154 babies were named Rhys between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Rhys peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Ireland
1 in 2,000
In Ireland, 27 boys named Rhys were born in 2025, the 179th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Scotland
1 in 2,400
In Scotland, 19 boys named Rhys were registered in 2024, the 218th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Canada
1 in 3,000
In Canada, 114 boys named Rhys were born in 2024, the 289th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
South Australia
1 in 3,1002017
In South Australia, 6 boys were registered as Rhys in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
New Zealand
1 in 4,100
In New Zealand, 14 boys named Rhys were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
England and Wales
1 in 5,500
In England and Wales, 106 boys named Rhys were born in 2025, the 389th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Austria
last on record 2019
Rhys is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
New South Wales
outside the top 100
Rhys is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Rhys
Most people given the name Rhys in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Rhys deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Rhys truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Rhys fits with your family’s names and surname.
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