Head to head · Boys' names
Hank vs Rhys
#413 vs #410 in 2025 · both holding its place on the charts
Rhys is a whisker ahead (#410 vs #413 in 2025) and both are holding its place on the charts. The records will not split these two — sound, story and your own last name will.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Hank and Rhys each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1900s: Hank #1325, Rhys — — Hank higher
- 1910s: Hank #3010, Rhys — — Hank higher
- 1920s: Hank #2553, Rhys #2980 — Hank higher
- 1930s: Hank #1736, Rhys — — Hank higher
- 1940s: Hank #1058, Rhys #3127 — Hank higher
- 1950s: Hank #636, Rhys #2667 — Hank higher
- 1960s: Hank #621, Rhys #2598 — Hank higher
- 1970s: Hank #862, Rhys #3891 — Hank higher
- 1980s: Hank #933, Rhys #1931 — Hank higher
- 1990s: Hank #1299, Rhys #1494 — Hank higher
- 2000s: Hank #1291, Rhys #908 — Rhys higher
- 2010s: Hank #580, Rhys #479 — Rhys higher
- 2020s: Hank #440, Rhys #395 — Rhys higher
Hank stood higher in 10 of 13 decades; Rhys has held the lead since the 2000s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Hank | Rhys |
|---|---|---|
| 1900s | #1325 | — |
| 1910s | #3010 | — |
| 1920s | #2553 | #2980 |
| 1930s | #1736 | — |
| 1940s | #1058 | #3127 |
| 1950s | #636 | #2667 |
| 1960s | #621 | #2598 |
| 1970s | #862 | #3891 |
| 1980s | #933 | #1931 |
| 1990s | #1299 | #1494 |
| 2000s | #1291 | #908 |
| 2010s | #580 | #479 |
| 2020s | #440 | #395 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Hank
'home ruler', through Henry
Taken as a short form of Henry, it carries that name's Germanic elements heim 'home' and ric 'ruler, power'. But there is a second documented road: the medieval English pet name Hankin, built on Han — itself a short form of Johan, John, 'Yahweh is gracious'. Both lines feed the modern Hank, and nobody has to pick one.
Heimirich → Henri → Henry → Hankin → Hank
How it traveled
Henry arrived in England with the Normans as Henri, descended from the Germanic Heimirich, and became one of the most-used royal names in English history. Medieval English speakers were fond of clipping and then re-suffixing their names, which gave forms like Han and Hankin — attached in the records sometimes to John, sometimes to Henry, the two having worn each other's nicknames for centuries.
Rhys
ardor, enthusiasm
The Old Welsh root is usually glossed as ardor or zeal; older reference books sometimes render it more loosely as "fiery" or "rashness", but they are describing the same word.
Ris → Rhys → Rees → Reece → Reese
How it traveled
Rhys comes from Old Welsh Ris and belongs to the oldest layer of Welsh personal names, the kind recorded in medieval genealogies and princely charters. Its most famous medieval bearer was Rhys ap Gruffydd, the Lord Rhys, who ruled Deheubarth in the twelfth century and held the earliest recorded eisteddfod at Cardigan.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Hank
HANK
One syllable, rhyming with thank. Spelled the way it sounds in English, so it rarely needs repeating. The Dutch cousin Henk sounds different — closer to HENK — and is a separate spelling.
- Hank — Historically the nickname for Henry; now widely registered as a full given name in its own right.
- Hankie — Informal, mostly a family or early-childhood form rather than anything used outside the house.
- Henry — Not a nickname but the long form some parents put on the birth certificate, keeping Hank for daily use.
Rhys
REESS
Rhymes with peace, not with rice or rise. In Welsh the opening rh is a breathy, voiceless r, but English speakers say it as a plain r and no one in Wales minds.
- Reece — Not a shortening but the anglicized spelling; some families use it as the informal or written-out-for-strangers version.
- Rhysie — A family diminutive heard mainly with small children; rarely used outside the household.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Hank if you want…
- a name on the way upup 68 places on the charts in five years
Choose Rhys if you want…
- a name holding steadyRhys is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Hank
Strengths
- One syllable, four letters, no silent letters or spelling variants to correct over the phone.
- Comes with a ready-made formal option: parents who want a longer name on paper can use Henry and Hank in daily life.
- Sits on a documented line running back through Henry and Henri to the Germanic Heimirich, so it is short without being new.
To consider
- To some ears Hank still reads as a nickname rather than a full name, which can mean occasional questions about 'what it's short for'. Using Henry on legal documents solves it, at the cost of a small explanation instead.
- It has a strong American, country-and-western texture from a century of use here. That is part of the appeal for many families, but it travels less naturally in places where Henk, Henri or Enrique are the familiar forms.
- Short rhyming words come easily to children — tank, prank, hanky-panky. Most one-syllable names have this, and it usually passes with the grade.
Rhys
Strengths
- One syllable, one clear sound — once someone has heard it, they can say it.
- The pronunciation is already familiar in the US through the Reese and Reece spellings, so the sound needs no explaining, only the letters.
- Documented in Wales since the early medieval period and continuously in use there ever since.
To consider
- The spelling gets misread on sight — "Rise" and "Riss" are the usual guesses — so he will spell it aloud fairly often. Most people only need telling once.
- Heard rather than seen, it can be taken for Reese, which in the US is given largely to girls. The Rhys spelling itself is used almost entirely for boys.
- There is essentially no short form. A one-syllable name gives nicknames nowhere to go, which suits some families and frustrates others.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Hank and Rhys in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Hank and Rhys?
Put both to the vote.
One link to your partner, your parents, your sister. Each of them gets the two names, a one-tap answer and room to say why — and every reply lands in one place.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Names with only one spelling
- Western names with dust on their boots
- Vintage nicknames standing on their own
- Grandpa names ready for the playground
- all guides
Where Hank and Rhys each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Hank or Rhys — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Hank or Rhys?
- Rhys, in 2025: Rhys ranked #410 with 778 babies; Hank ranked #413 with 776 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Hank or Rhys?
- Hank. Over the last five years Hank moved up 68 places; Rhys moved up 8 places.
- Which is the older name, Hank or Rhys?
- Hank entered the US charts in 1908; Rhys entered the US charts in 1929. On the American record, Hank is the older name.
- How many people are named Hank and Rhys?
- About 15,500 people named Hank are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 14,000 people named Rhys are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Hanks or Rhyss in the classroom?
- Hank will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rhys will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
Sixty more head-to-heads are dealt in the arena every day — or line up Hank, Rhys and the rest of your shortlist with your last name in one printable report.
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