Reef
Masculine · “ridge of rock”
Reef is given to both — 1,290 boys and 63 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Reef is a Dutch and Norse word for a rib — the ridge of rock under water was named for the shape of a ribcage.
How old is the name Reef?
Reef first appears in US birth records in 1996 — 29 years ago. The typical Reef is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,300 people named Reef are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reef most popular?
Reef peaked in 2021, reaching #1884 nationally. Today it ranks #2480, 596 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From rif to Reef
The story of Reef
Norse rif meant a rib, and the ridges of rock that wreck ships were named for the shape; the reef taken in a sail is the same word again. English took it from Dutch sailors. Reef entered American given-name use recently among the nature word-names and is in current use.
Meaning
ridge of rock, reef
From the Dutch rif and the Old Norse rif, 'rib' or 'ridge' — the underwater ridge named for its resemblance to ribs. The nautical reef in a sail is the same word. English borrowed it in the sixteenth century. The etymology is documented.
How the name formed
- rif
- reef
- Reef
Related forms: Rif · Rev
Pronouncing Reef
REEF
One syllable. It is a homophone of the ordinary English noun.
Nicknames for Reef
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1996
- Most boys named
- 202181 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1884reached in 2021
- Change vs 2024
- +1.9%54 in 2025, from 53
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Reef in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rif in Dutch — related form
- Rev in Norwegian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida, California, Hawaii.
Reefs among us
people named Reef are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 31,631 born in 2025 was named Reef
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Moishe test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Reef's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Moishe climbed just as high around 1975, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Moishe's path sketches the road Reef is walking now.
Reef sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Reef is headed
Reef should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Reef beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reef in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- That a reef is named for a ribcage is a first-rate etymology.
- The meaning is concrete and needs no explanation.
- One syllable, clean, and never mispronounced.
- It is an ordinary English noun and reads as one.
- It is very short and can be swallowed by a long surname.
- It is very new as a given name.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Reef
Masculine · #2480 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reefs are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Reef are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reef in 2025?
- Reef ranks #2480 among US boy names in 2025, with 54 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reef?
- About 1 in every 31,631 US boys born in 2025 was named Reef — 54 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reef with classmates?
- Reef will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reef
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Arya#2480 · Kaeson#2480 · Demian#2480 · Marion#2480 · Florian#2480 · Niles#2480 · Hardy#2480 · Caine#2480
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reef? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reef and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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