Reyes
Masculine · “kings”
Reyes is given to both — 5,979 boys and 711 girls since 1880. See Reyes as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Reyes is the Spanish word for kings, and it became a family name the way a whole class of Spanish surnames did: not from an ancestor but from a devotion. It is given to daughters as well as sons, which is normal for surnames of this kind, because the title behind them is not a person's.
How old is the name Reyes?
Reyes first appears in US birth records in 1900 — 125 years ago. The typical Reyes alive today was born around 1984, making them about 41 years old. About 4,600 people named Reyes are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Reyes most popular?
Reyes peaked in 1954, reaching #868 nationally. Today it ranks #2941, 2,073 places below that high. See the whole 1954 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From reges to Reyes
The story of Reyes
A cake baked with something hidden in it has been used to pick a temporary king for a very long time. Roman Saturnalia had a mock king chosen by lot; medieval and early modern Europe had a Twelfth Night cake with a bean baked into it, and whoever found the bean in their slice was king of the feast for the evening, gave orders and was obeyed. The custom survives across the Spanish-speaking world in the ring-shaped cake eaten at the January feast: a small figure is baked in, and in Mexico whoever finds it is obliged to provide tamales at a later date, which turns a game into a chain of obligations running through the year. In France the same cake still carries a bean and a paper crown. The English version faded in the nineteenth century, but the coin in the Christmas pudding is the same idea worn down.
Meaning
kings
The plural of the Spanish word for a king, from Latin rex. As a name it refers to the feast of the kings in January rather than to royalty, and it belongs to the same set as Cruz, Rosario, Santos, Nieves and Concepción — surnames taken from a devotion, a feast day or a title rather than from a father.
How the name formed
- reges
- Reyes
Related forms: Reis · Reis
Pronouncing Reyes
RAY-ess
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The final s is a plural in Spanish rather than part of a root, which is why the singular form is also a name.
Nicknames for Reyes
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
- 1900
- Most boys named
- 1999101 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #868reached in 1954
- Change vs 2023
- −27.6%42 in 2025, from 58
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.
Reyes in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Reis in Portuguese — same name
- Reis in Catalan — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Arizona.
Reyess among us
people named Reyes are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 40,668 born in 2025 was named Reyes
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 Foch test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Reyes's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Foch climbed just as high around 1918, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Foch's path sketches the road Reyes is walking now.
Reyes 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 Reyes is headed
Reyes is easing off slowly — about 19% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
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.
Reyes beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Reyes in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, entirely regular in Spanish, and easy for English speakers to say.
- Rey detaches as a short form and is a complete name.
- It works for a child of either sex, as devotional names generally do.
- It reads as a surname to most American eyes, which suits some settings and not others.
- English speakers often say the first vowel as in rye, which gives a different name.
- The plural s invites people to treat it as a family name rather than a given one.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Reyes 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 Reyes? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Reyes
Masculine · #2941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Reyess are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 4,600 people named Reyes are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Reyes in 2025?
- Reyes ranks #2941 among US boy names in 2025, with 42 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Reyes?
- About 1 in every 40,668 US boys born in 2025 was named Reyes — 42 in all.
- Will my child share the name Reyes with classmates?
- Reyes will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Reyes
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Kwame#2941 · Michelangelo#2941 · Jahan#2941 · Kairi#2941 · Yonah#2941 · Nihal#2941 · Lakai#2941 · Prescott#2941
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Reyes? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Reyes 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