Renate
Feminine · “Reborn”
Renate has three syllables in German and two in English, and the whole difference is a final e that one language says and the other does not. It is the same name English knows as Renee, arriving from the other side of the Rhine and keeping the Latin shape instead of the French one.
How old is the name Renate?
Renate first appears in US birth records in 1917 — 108 years ago. The typical Renate alive today was born around 1965, making them about 60 years old. About 1,100 people named Renate are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Renate most popular?
Renate peaked in 1961, reaching #1360 nationally. See the whole 1961 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From renata to Renate
The story of Renate
English took the French version of this name and Germany kept the Latin one, and the difference is audible. French wore renata down to Renee, dropping the final consonant and the last syllable and putting the whole weight on the end; German kept the shape almost intact and said every letter, which gives three syllables with the stress in the middle. Both have been in use for centuries and neither is a variant of the other; they are parallel descendants. The English-speaking world barely met the German form until the twentieth century, when it arrived with immigration, and the record holds it as a small steady presence rather than a fashion.
Meaning
Reborn
Latin renatus and renata, born again, from the verb for being born with the prefix that means back or afresh. The name is a statement about a ceremony rather than about a child, and it was chosen for exactly that reason for centuries. Both the German and the French forms descend from the same Latin word without any change of sense.
How the name formed
- renata
- Renate
Related forms: Renate · Renate · Renata · Renee · Renata
Pronouncing Renate
reh-NAH-tuh
Three syllables in German, with the final e fully sounded as a light uh. English speakers reading it cold produce ruh-NAYT in two syllables, treating the e as silent, and both readings are heard in the United States.
Nicknames for Renate
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
- 1917
- Most girls named
- 196167 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1360reached in 1961
- Change vs 2019
- −25.0%6 in 2020, 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.
Renate in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Renate in German — same name
- Renate in Dutch — same name
- Renata in Italian — same name
- Renee in French — related form
- Renata in Polish — same name
Renates among us
people named Renate 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
Renate 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
The trade-off
- Standard and unremarkable in German, Dutch and Polish, so it travels without explanation.
- The meaning is clear, positive and stated in one word.
- Rena is a soft, complete short form available immediately.
- The syllable count changes between languages, so the name has to be introduced rather than written down.
- English speakers will read the final e as silent, which produces a quite different name.
- Renata and Renee are both commoner in the United States and will be substituted.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Renate to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Renate? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Renate
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Renates are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,100 people named Renate are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Renate in 2025?
- Renate is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Renate with classmates?
- Renate 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 Renate? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Renate and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle