Head to head · Boys' names
Reece vs Rome
#460 vs #452 in 2025
Rome is a whisker ahead (#452 vs #460 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Rome is climbing the charts fast, Reece is back after a long quiet spell.
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: Reece and Rome 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
- 1880s: Reece #734, Rome #805 — Reece higher
- 1890s: Reece #1029, Rome #886 — Rome higher
- 1900s: Reece #1063, Rome #1273 — Reece higher
- 1910s: Reece #1037, Rome #2801 — Reece higher
- 1920s: Reece #1074, Rome #2412 — Reece higher
- 1930s: Reece #1147, Rome #3007 — Reece higher
- 1940s: Reece #1346, Rome #2910 — Reece higher
- 1950s: Reece #1493, Rome #2540 — Reece higher
- 1960s: Reece #1545, Rome #2784 — Reece higher
- 1970s: Reece #1812, Rome #3260 — Reece higher
- 1980s: Reece #1213, Rome #5032 — Reece higher
- 1990s: Reece #642, Rome #4933 — Reece higher
- 2000s: Reece #388, Rome #2562 — Reece higher
- 2010s: Reece #534, Rome #1413 — Reece higher
- 2020s: Reece #510, Rome #637 — Reece higher
Reece stood higher in 14 of 15 decades; Reece has held the lead since the 1900s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Reece | Rome |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #734 | #805 |
| 1890s | #1029 | #886 |
| 1900s | #1063 | #1273 |
| 1910s | #1037 | #2801 |
| 1920s | #1074 | #2412 |
| 1930s | #1147 | #3007 |
| 1940s | #1346 | #2910 |
| 1950s | #1493 | #2540 |
| 1960s | #1545 | #2784 |
| 1970s | #1812 | #3260 |
| 1980s | #1213 | #5032 |
| 1990s | #642 | #4933 |
| 2000s | #388 | #2562 |
| 2010s | #534 | #1413 |
| 2020s | #510 | #637 |
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
Reece
ardor, enthusiasm
The Welsh Rhys is standardly read as 'ardor' or 'enthusiasm'; older popular sources sometimes stretch this to 'fiery warrior', which is decoration rather than translation.
Ris → Rhys → Rees → Reece
How it traveled
The name begins in Wales as Rhys, recorded in Old Welsh as Ris and borne by princes of the medieval Welsh kingdoms. When Welsh names were written down by English-speaking clerks, the unfamiliar 'rh' was flattened, and the name became the surnames Rees, Reece and Rice — which is why so many families carry it today.
Rome
the city of Rome — though the city's own name has never been explained
Three readings compete for the city name itself. Roman tradition tied it to Romulus, the legendary founder. Scholars have also proposed an Etruscan family name, Ruma, and Rumon, an archaic name for the Tiber. In Greek, rhome happens to mean strength and vigor, a coincidence ancient writers enjoyed, but it is not the source. For a child, the meaning that actually travels is the place.
Roma → Rome
How it traveled
Latin Roma passed into English as Rome, and from the city the name spread outward into people: Roman meant simply someone from there, and Romeo began as a word for a pilgrim who had made the journey to Rome. Medieval England had surnames of the same kind — Rome and Romer marked a family whose ancestor had walked to the city and back.
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
Reece
REESS
One syllable, rhyming with geese. The Welsh Rhys begins with a breathy, voiceless r — closer to 'hreess' — but Reece is said the plain English way everywhere it is used.
- Reecey — Informal and mostly used within the family; rarely written down.
- Ree — An informal clipping, more often heard for girls than boys.
- Rhys — Used by some families as the Welsh formal spelling alongside the everyday Reece.
Rome
ROHM
One syllable, rhyming with home. Italian keeps the second vowel: ROH-mah.
- Ro — Informal, family-level shortening of an already short name.
- Romey — Affectionate spoken form; the spelling Romy also stands alone as a given name, most often for girls.
- Roman — Used the other way round — Rome often serves as the short form of Roman, and some families move between the two.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Reece if you want…
- a long American recordReece was already in use when US records began in 1880
- a name that ages quietlyan estimated 30% chance of feeling dated by 2040, against 58% for Rome
Choose Rome if you want…
- a name on the way upup 518 places on the charts in five years
- a newer arrivalRome entered the US charts in 1882
- a name that feels very nowRome is climbing the charts fast
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
Reece
Strengths
- One syllable, one obvious pronunciation: almost no one will need to be told twice how to say it.
- A documented line back to medieval Wales, where Rhys is still a living name.
- Works as a given name and reads naturally as a surname, so it sits easily in either slot.
To consider
- Four spellings compete for the same sound — Reece, Reese, Rees and Welsh Rhys. Expect to spell it aloud often, and expect Reese in particular to turn up on mail and forms.
- In the United States, Reese is the spelling most associated with girls; a girl called Reece will often be handed the other one by default.
- The Reese's candy brand is close enough in sound that American children will hear the joke at some point. It tends to be brief and cheerful rather than cruel.
Rome
Strengths
- One syllable and a spelling every English reader already knows — no repeating it on the phone, no correcting teachers.
To consider
- Spoken aloud it is indistinguishable from the word roam, so in a list of names read out, people may need a moment or a spelling.
- It is a place name, and a famous one. Expect the occasional "like the city?" and the odd "when in Rome" from adults who think they are the first to say it.
- Right now a child called Rome will most likely be the only one anywhere nearby, but the name is moving upward. That can change within a childhood, which is worth knowing rather than worrying about.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Reece
30%chance Reece feels dated by 2040
Reece is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
Rome
58%chance Rome feels dated by 2040
Rome is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
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 Reece and Rome 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 Reece and Rome?
Put both to the vote.
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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
- Vintage names making a comeback
- Quiet perennials: a century old, never popular
- Borrowed from the girls: names boys are taking back
- Names ending in -ce
- all guides
Where Reece and Rome each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Reece or Rome — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Reece or Rome?
- Rome, in 2025: Rome ranked #452 with 694 babies; Reece ranked #460 with 675 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Reece or Rome?
- Rome. Over the last five years Reece moved up 128 places; Rome moved up 518 places.
- Which is the older name, Reece or Rome?
- Reece was already in use when US records began in 1880; Rome entered the US charts in 1882. On the American record, Reece is the older name.
- How many people are named Reece and Rome?
- About 20,000 people named Reece are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 5,200 people named Rome are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Reeces or Romes in the classroom?
- Reece will almost certainly be the only one in school. Rome 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
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