Reo
Masculine · “the initials of Ransom Eli Olds”
Reo is given to both — 835 boys and 27 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Reo is an acronym. Ransom Eli Olds left the company that bore his name and founded a second one under his initials, and the REO Motor Car Company built the trucks that gave the American road the Speed Wagon. This name peaks in 1917, at the height of them.
How old is the name Reo?
Reo first appears in US birth records in 1912 — 113 years ago. The typical Reo alive today was born around 1980, making them about 45 years old. About 500 people named Reo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reo most popular?
Reo peaked in 1917, reaching #1755 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 5,048 places below that high. See the whole 1917 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From REO to Reo
The story of Reo
Ransom Eli Olds founded Oldsmobile, lost control of it, and started again in 1904 with a company named for his initials; REO trucks were among the most widely used commercial vehicles in America through the 1910s and 1920s, and the REO Speed Wagon was a household object. Naming children after cars and manufacturers was a real American habit of that period, which also produced Oldsmobile, Ford and Chevrolet in the records. Reo's best year is 1917. Its modern uses in the United States are far more likely to be Japanese, where Reo is a current boys' name, or simply a respelling of Rio.
Meaningscholars disagree
the initials of Ransom Eli Olds
The American Reo of the 1910s is almost certainly the car company's name, itself the founder's initials and therefore not a word at all. Separately, Japanese Reo is a genuine given name written with several possible character combinations, and Maori reo means language or voice. The three are unrelated and the spelling cannot distinguish them.
How the name formed
- REO
- Reo
Related forms: Reo · Rio · Reo
Pronouncing Reo
REE-oh
Two syllables with the stress on the first. Japanese gives both syllables even weight, and the company's name was said as three letters, R-E-O, as often as as a word.
Nicknames for Reo
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 boys named
- 192117 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1755reached in 1917
- Change vs 2023
- +20.0%12 in 2025, from 10
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.
Reo in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Reo in Japanese — related form
- Rio in Spanish — related form
- Reo in Maori — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California.
Reos among us
people named Reo are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Reo
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Reo 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
Reo beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reo in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and no spelling difficulty of any kind.
- Current as a boys' name in Japan, which gives it a living community.
- Short, open and easy for speakers of any language.
- The American origin is a set of initials rather than a word.
- Rio is far more common and will be written instead.
- It is short enough that people will assume it abbreviates something.
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Reo
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reos 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 Reo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reo in 2025?
- Reo ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reo?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Reo — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reo with classmates?
- Reo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reo
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reo? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reo and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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