Regis
Feminine · “Latin regis”
Regis is given to both — 343 girls and 5,193 boys since 1880. See Regis as a boy nameSee other names given to both
Regis entered the US charts in 1912, peaked at #2634 in 1912, is rarely given in 2025 — given to only a few children a year.
How old is the name Regis?
Regis first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Regis alive today was born around 1940, making them about 85 years old. About 200 people named Regis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Regis most popular?
Regis peaked in 1912, reaching #2634 nationally. See the whole 1912 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From rex to Regis
The story of Regis
The root reg- is one of the best attested in Indo-European and its spread is instructive. In Latin it gives rex and regina, regere to direct, rectus straight, regula a measuring stick and hence a rule, and regio a direction and then a region. In Germanic it gives right, in the sense of both correct and the opposite of left, and the word for a realm, reich. In Celtic it gives rix, a king, seen in Vercingetorix. In Sanskrit it gives raj. The semantic core in all of them is straightness, and the connection to rule is that a ruler directs, sets straight and lays down what is correct. English retains an unusually large share of the family, since it inherited right natively and borrowed rex, regal, regular, rectify, direct, erect, correct and address from Latin on top.
Meaning
Latin regis, of the king
Regis is the Latin genitive of rex, king, meaning of the king. It became a given name through St John Francis Regis, a French Jesuit missionary who died in 1640 and was canonized in 1737, whose surname it was. The word survives in English institutional usage in the Regius professorships founded by Henry VIII. The American peak is 1917.
How the name formed
- rex
- regis
- Regis
Related forms: Regis · Regis
Pronouncing Regis
REE-jis
Two syllables, stress on the first. French says ray-ZHEE with the s silent. Latin says REH-gis with a hard g. All three are heard.
Nicknames for Regis
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
- 1912
- Most girls named
- 195212 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2634reached in 1912
- Change vs 1991
- −37.5%5 in 1997, 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.
Regis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Regis in French — same name
- Regis in Latin — same name
Regiss among us
people named Regis are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Regis sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Regis
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Regiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Regis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Regis in 2025?
- Regis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Regis with classmates?
- Regis will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More R names
The most-given names starting with R, all years combined.
Ruth#173 · Rebecca#349 · Rachel#250 · Rose#114 · Ruby#64 · Robin#704 · Rita#1285 · Rhonda#6116
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Regis? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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