Reesa
Feminine · “ardor”
Rhys is a Welsh word about ardor. It means enthusiasm, fire, the quality of throwing yourself at something, and it belonged to princes of Deheubarth in the twelfth century. English spells it Reese or Reece. Reesa adds a vowel and makes a woman's name of it — though the name may equally be the last two syllables of Teresa, which is a completely different word.
How old is the name Reesa?
Reesa first appears in US birth records in 1945 — 80 years ago. The typical Reesa alive today was born around 1978, making them about 47 years old. About 700 people named Reesa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reesa most popular?
Reesa peaked in 1963, reaching #2704 nationally. Today it ranks #13208, 10,504 places below that high. See the whole 1963 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Rhys to Reesa
The story of Reesa
Rhys ap Gruffydd ruled a large part of south Wales and is remembered as the Lord Rhys; the name has been continuously used in Wales since. English took it as Reese and Rice, mostly as a surname, and America has given it as a first name to both sexes since the twentieth century. Meanwhile Teresa was producing short forms, and American naming was adding vowels to everything. Reesa appears in the record from 1945 and peaked in the early 1960s, which fits either origin.
Meaningscholars disagree
ardor, enthusiasm
The Welsh Rhys is usually read as ardor or fiery enthusiasm, and it is a genuine and old Welsh name. But Reesa may not descend from it at all: it could be the back half of Teresa, whose own origin is unsettled, or a respelling of Risa, which is Italian for laughter. Three roads, one spelling, no way to choose.
How the name formed
- Rhys
- Reese
- Reesa
Related forms: Rhys · Risa
Pronouncing Reesa
REE-suh
Two syllables, stress on the first. The Welsh Rhys is said with a breathy r that English does not have, and the vowel is closer to the i in his — so the English versions are approximations rather than the name.
Nicknames for Reesa
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
- 1945
- Most girls named
- 196117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2704reached in 1963
- Change vs 2024
- −25.0%6 in 2025, from 8
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.
Reesa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rhys in Welsh — related form
- Risa in Italian — related form
Reesas among us
people named Reesa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 267,878 born in 2025 was named Reesa
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 Jinny test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Reesa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Jinny climbed just as high around 1948, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Jinny's path sketches the road Reesa is walking now.
Reesa 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
Reesa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reesa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Reese is available as a short form and is entirely current for either sex.
- Five letters, two syllables, and readable on sight.
- If the Welsh reading is taken, the meaning is unusually energetic for a woman's name.
- Risa, Reese and Reisa all sit close by and will be written instead.
- Its meaning cannot be given flatly, since three unrelated words meet at the spelling.
- It belongs to a mid-century American generation and carries that flavor.
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What they receive
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Reesa
Feminine · #13208 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reesas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Reesa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reesa in 2025?
- Reesa ranks #13208 among US girl names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reesa?
- About 1 in every 267,878 US girls born in 2025 was named Reesa — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reesa with classmates?
- Reesa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reesa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Makynzie#13208 · Jadeyn#13208 · Syniah#13208 · Sarra#13208 · Arrianna#13208 · Marry#13208 · Briyanna#13208 · Alexsandra#13208
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reesa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reesa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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