Rey
Masculine · Latin roots · “King" (Spanish)”
Rey is given to both — 9,696 boys and 526 girls since 1880. See Rey as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Rey is the Spanish word for king, and it is also the everyday short form of Reynaldo and of Reyes, one of the most widespread surnames in the Spanish-speaking world. One syllable, four letters, and the same sound in English and Spanish mouths alike — it arrives already spoken, needing no explanation.
How old is the name Rey?
Rey first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Rey alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 9,100 people named Rey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rey most popular?
Rey peaked in 2018, reaching #751 nationally. Today it ranks #906, 155 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Where it comes from
From rex (Latin) to Rey
The story of Rey
The Latin rex, king, softened into Spanish rey, and from there into names: Reyes, the devotional name tied to the Feast of the Three Kings on the sixth of January, still marked in Spanish-speaking households as Día de los Reyes. Reyes became a common surname and a given name, and Rey settled in as its short form, alongside its use for Reynaldo. On the English side, the same four letters serve as a spelling of Ray. That double origin is why the name sits comfortably on both sides of a bilingual family, and why it is strongest in states with deep Spanish-speaking histories.
Meaningscholars disagree
"King" (Spanish), or a short form of Reynaldo / Reyes
Two roads reach the same spelling. From Spanish, rey means king, descended from Latin rex; the related Reyes refers to the Reyes Magos, the three kings of the Epiphany, and gave rise to both a surname and a given name. From English, Rey works as a variant spelling of Ray and as a clipped form of Reynaldo, Reynold or Reginald, which trace back to a Germanic name built from elements for counsel and rule.
How the name formed
- rexLatin
- reySpanish
- Reyes
- Rey
Related forms: Reyes · Ray · Rei · Rex · Reynaldo
Pronouncing Rey
RAY
Identical in sound to the English word ray. Spanish speakers give the vowel a slightly tighter glide, but the two pronunciations meet in the middle, so no one has to adjust.
Nicknames for Rey
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
- 2021328 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #751reached in 2018
- Change vs 2023
- −17.6%262 in 2025, from 318
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.
Rey in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Reyes in Spanish — related form
- Ray in English — spelling variant
- Rei in Portuguese — related form
- Rex in Latin/English — related form
- Reynaldo in Spanish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Reys among us
people named Rey are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 6,519 born in 2025 was named Rey
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Rey
- #906
- Rey on the 2025 chart
- #645
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Rey went to 262 boys in 2025, but Rei is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 297, which makes it the 645th most-given boys’ name of the year — 261 places above the chart.
- Rey262
- Rei35
About 1 boy in 5,751 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 6,519 for Rey 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 Justine test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rey's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Justine climbed just as high around 1988, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Justine's path sketches the road Rey is walking now.
Rey 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 Rey is headed
Rey 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.
Rey beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rey in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One syllable, four letters, and readable on sight in both English and Spanish — no spelling lesson required for the sound.
- Works as a full given name or as the short form of Reynaldo and Reyes, so a child can grow into a longer version or never bother.
- Long, unbroken presence in US records, without ever crowding a classroom.
- Backed by Reyes, a surname most Americans have already seen in print, which makes the spelling look familiar even to people meeting the name for the first time.
- It sounds exactly like Ray, so expect a lifetime of "Rey with an e" over the phone and on forms. Not a burden, just a small recurring sentence.
- Since the 2015 film The Force Awakens, Rey has also been widely used for girls, and it doubles as a short form of Reyna and Reina. On US records it remains a boy's name, but the association goes both ways and some people will assume the other one.
- The meaning is transparent to anyone who speaks Spanish — "king", plainly and immediately. Worth deciding in advance whether you like being asked about that, because you will be.
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What they receive
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Rey
Masculine · Latin roots · #906 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,100 people named Rey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Rey?
- Rey is the most-used spelling in US records — 262 of the 297 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Rei.
- How popular is the name Rey in 2025?
- Rey ranks #906 among US boy names in 2025, with 262 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rey?
- About 1 in every 6,519 US boys born in 2025 was named Rey — 262 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rey with classmates?
- Rey will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rey
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jerry#906 · Scottie#906 · Axton#906 · Nael#903 · Kael#903 · Kannon#903 · Vihaan#910 · Yitzchok#910
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rey? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rey and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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