Remi
Masculine · “oarsman”
Remi is given to both — 4,185 boys and 22,881 girls since 1880. See Remi as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Remi is the French Rémi worn down to its shortest form, and behind it stands Remigius — a Latin name built on remus, an oar. Saint Rémi, bishop of Reims, baptized Clovis, king of the Franks, around the end of the fifth century, and the name has been in steady French use ever since. Two syllables, spelled the way it sounds, with a soft landing on the second.
How old is the name Remi?
Remi first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Remi is a kid of about 5 — this name's wave is very recent. About 4,000 people named Remi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Remi most popular?
Remi peaked in 2021, reaching #719 nationally. Today it ranks #787, 68 places below that high. See the whole 2021 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Remigius to Remi
The story of Remi
Remigius is a Latin name from remus, "oar", and it belonged to the bishop of Reims who baptized Clovis, king of the Franks, at the close of the fifth century — an event French tradition treats as the founding of Christian France. The saint's name stayed in ordinary French circulation for the next fourteen centuries, worn down to Rémi and Rémy, and spread in Latin dress across Italy, Spain and Poland as Remigio and Remigiusz. English-speaking parents came to the short form by two roads at once: the French man's name, and the habit of trimming surname-style names like Remington. That is why the spelling now reaches American girls in numbers and American boys in a real minority, while in France it remains a name for men.
Meaning
oarsman, rower
From Latin Remigius, formed on remus, "oar". In American use Remi also works as a clipped form of longer names — Remington above all — so the same spelling can arrive with no Latin in its luggage at all.
How the name formed
- Remigius
- Rémi
- Rémy
- Remi
Related forms: Rémi · Rémy · Remigius · Remigio · Remigio · Remigiusz
Pronouncing Remi
REM-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first, with the short e of "hem". Some families say REE-mee. French speakers give it as ray-MEE, stress at the end — worth knowing if relatives abroad will be saying it.
Nicknames for Remi
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 2022348 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #719reached in 2021
- Change vs 2023
- +7.7%323 in 2025, from 300
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.
Remi in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rémi in French — same name
- Rémy in French — spelling variant
- Remigius in Latin — same name
- Remigio in Italian — same name
- Remigio in Spanish — same name
- Remigiusz in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Remis among us
people named Remi are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 5,288 born in 2025 was named Remi
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Remi
- #787
- Remi on the 2025 chart
- #288
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Remi went to 323 boys in 2025, but Remy, Remmy and Remmi are the same name said out loud. Together the 4 spellings went to 1,153, which makes it the 288th most-given boys’ name of the year — 499 places above the chart.
About 1 boy in 1,481 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 5,288 for Remi itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Alexandro test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Remi's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Alexandro climbed just as high around 2002, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Alexandro's path sketches the road Remi is walking now.
Remi 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 Remi is headed
Remi 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.
Remi beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Remi in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, two syllables, and spelled as it sounds — most English speakers get it right on a first reading.
- A documented line back to Latin Remigius and the bishop of Reims, so the name has fourteen centuries of continuous use behind it.
- Recognizable across French, Italian, Spanish and Polish in closely related forms, which helps in multilingual families.
- Also charts in Scotland, so it travels in the English-speaking world without needing explanation.
- Doubles as the natural nickname for Remington, Remus and Remigius if you ever want a longer form on paper.
- Remi and Remy compete closely, and Remmy turns up too. Expect a lifetime of "is that with an i or a y?" — not a problem, just a small recurring question.
- In the United States this spelling goes mostly to girls, so a boy named Remi will occasionally be assumed female on paper. In France the opposite holds, which can cut either way depending on who is reading the form.
- The wave is very recent, so nearly everyone carrying the name is still a child. There is no adult version of Remi in most people's minds yet — your child will help set it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Remi
Masculine · #787 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Remis are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,000 people named Remi are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Remi?
- Remi is one of 4 recorded spellings. Remy is the more common one — 781 births in 2025 against 323 for Remi.
- How popular is the name Remi in 2025?
- Remi ranks #787 among US boy names in 2025, with 323 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Remi?
- About 1 in every 5,288 US boys born in 2025 was named Remi — 323 in all.
- Will my child share the name Remi with classmates?
- Remi will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Remi
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Darius#788 · Elisha#788 · Jamison#785 · Alonso#785 · Barron#790 · Skyler#783 · Tony#783 · Fisher#791
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Remi? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Remi and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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