Renny
Masculine · “Latin renatus”
Renny is given to both — 661 boys and 129 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Rene means born again, and it was given at baptism to say so. The Latin renatus is a theological term before it is a name: the sacrament was understood as a second birth, and the child's name announced it.
How old is the name Renny?
Renny first appears in US birth records in 1936 — 89 years ago. The typical Renny alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 500 people named Renny are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Renny most popular?
Renny peaked in 1942, reaching #2042 nationally. Today it ranks #10695, 8,653 places below that high. See the whole 1942 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From renatus to Renny
The story of Renny
Early Christian naming used the vocabulary of the sacrament directly. Renatus, reborn, was given to converts and to children baptized in infancy, alongside names like Christianus, Deusdedit, God has given, and Adeodatus, given by God, which was the name of Augustine's son. The French Rene and Renee descend from it, and Italian has Renato and Renata. Reynold comes from an entirely different place, a Germanic compound of counsel and power that also gives Reginald and Ronald, and English shortened both families to Renny at various times. A short form is where etymologies go to blur, and this one has two respectable parents and no way to establish which is responsible for any particular bearer.
Meaningscholars disagree
Latin renatus, born again
Renny is most plausibly a diminutive of Rene, from Latin renatus, reborn, or of Reynold, from Germanic ragin and wald, counsel and rule. The two are unrelated and the records cannot separate them. The peak is 1942.
How the name formed
- renatus
- Rene
- Renny
Related forms: Rene · Renato · Rennie
Pronouncing Renny
REN-ee
Two syllables, stress on the first. The French Rene is ruh-NAY and is a different sound entirely.
Nicknames for Renny
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
- 1936
- Most boys named
- 196313 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2042reached in 1942
- Change vs 2023
- −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.
Renny in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rene in French — related form
- Renato in Italian — related form
- Rennie in English — spelling variant
Rennys among us
people named Renny are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 284,679 born in 2025 was named Renny
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 Thurl test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Renny's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Thurl climbed just as high around 1924, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Thurl's path sketches the road Renny is walking now.
Renny 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
Renny beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Renny in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Ren is a short, modern, sexless clip.
- Rene and Reynold are both available as formal versions.
- Two syllables and five letters.
- It reads as a diminutive rather than a full name.
- Two unrelated names lie behind it.
- The 1942 peak dates it to the war years.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Renny 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 Renny? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Renny
Masculine · #10695 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Rennys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Renny are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Renny in 2025?
- Renny ranks #10695 among US boy names in 2025, with 6 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Renny?
- About 1 in every 284,679 US boys born in 2025 was named Renny — 6 in all.
- Will my child share the name Renny with classmates?
- Renny will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Renny
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Dudley#10695 · Dell#10695 · Buford#10695 · Toney#10695 · Jodie#10695 · Nora#10695 · Garnet#10695 · Rogers#10695
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Renny? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Renny 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