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Rey

Gender
Unisex
Say it
RAY
Origin
Spanish
UK rank, 2025
#2,509 for girls
US rank, 2025
#906 for boys

Rey is a name of Spanish origin, meaning “king”. In 2025 it ranked 2,509th for girls in the UK (11 babies) and 906th for boys in the US (262 babies).

What does Rey mean?

Spanish: Spanish word, from Latin rex

“king”

Spanish for king; Rey is also the heroine of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, beginning with The Force Awakens.

Is Rey a girl's or a boy's name?

In recent years, Rey has been given to both girls and boys. In 2025, it was given to 11 girls and 7 boys in the UK and 24 girls and 262 boys in the US.

How popular is Rey in the UK?

Rank in 2025
2,509th among girls
Babies in 2025
11 about 1 in 25,000 girls
Five-year trend
Falling down 43% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 11 girls in the UK were named Rey, making it the 2,509th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,431st. Its busiest year was 2017, with 25 girls. 7 boys were also named Rey in 2025 (3,021st for boys).

2025 had the fewest girls named Rey since it first appeared, in 2016.

Half of all the girls named Rey in the UK since 1996 were born between 2017 and 2022, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 194 girls in the UK were given Rey or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #268, up from #2,509 for this spelling alone.

In 2025, 61% of the babies named Rey in the UK were girls.

Among girls in 2025, it was 2,438th in England and Wales.

2016Busiest: 25 in 20172025
Rey in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202511#2,509
202412#2,323
202312#2,329
202216#1,873
202120#1,605
202023#1,431
201917#1,793
201821#1,577
201725#1,396
201620#1,653

How popular is Rey in the US?

Rank in 2025
906th among boys
Babies in 2025
262 about 1 in 6,500 boys
Five-year trend
Steady up 3% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1% chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 262 boys in the US were named Rey, making it the 906th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 879th. Its busiest year was 2021, with 328 boys. It first appears in the records in 1915. 24 girls were also named Rey in 2025 (5,237th for girls).

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 4 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Rey than any year since 2020.

Half of all the boys named Rey in the US since 1880 were born between 1991 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.

In 2025, 621 boys in the US were given Rey or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #488, up from #906 for this spelling alone.

1915Busiest: 328 in 20212025
Rey in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025262#906
2024304#822
2023318#792
2022320#788
2021328#764
2020257#879
2019287#799
2018314#751
2017303#773
2016257#870
2015242#897
2014245#884
2013229#907
2012225#920
2011212#937
2010249#851
2009232#896
2008247#861
2007215#919
2006236#851
2005199#902
2004170#980
2003173#945
2002177#909
2001155#986
2000151#981
1999149#964
1998137#996
1997120#1,056
1996119#1,028
1995113#1,050
1994101#1,124
1993109#1,056
199290#1,158
1991112#1,011
199098#1,068
198980#1,193
198878#1,128
198766#1,187
198675#1,074
198569#1,115
198461#1,165
198360#1,166
198253#1,277
198171#1,077
198046#1,391
197959#1,177
197850#1,272
197748#1,289
197652#1,190
197550#1,191
197452#1,135
197346#1,223
197253#1,120
197151#1,150
197045#1,238
196946#1,152
196835#1,282
196740#1,180
196626#1,509
196537#1,254
196451#1,059
196356#1,011
196246#1,136
196150#1,107
196054#1,044
195949#1,100
195842#1,185
195732#1,387
195632#1,361
195530#1,395
195421#1,667
195328#1,426
195224#1,546
195119#1,724
195020#1,656
194922#1,582
194817#1,816
19478#2,861
194618#1,691
194516#1,696
19448#2,632
194315#1,909
194212#2,144
19417#2,871
194011#2,179
19396#3,112
193815#1,818
193710#2,332
19360–
19358#2,719
193410#2,393
193313#1,997
193213#2,101
193114#2,003
19306#3,590
192910#2,588
192814#2,162
19278#3,150
19266#3,706
19259#2,934
19246#3,865
192311#2,613
19225#4,305
19215#4,320
19208#3,207
19195#4,167
19185#4,178
19175#3,979
19167#3,176
19155#3,824

Names like Rey

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Fiadh, Riley, Maeve, Lainey, Orla, Quinn, Rowan, Nova, Maeva, Eden, Reeva, Paisley

Other spellings of Rey

Rae, Raye, Ray, Rei

Names related to Rey

Reya, Raeya, Reyah, Rheya, Reeya, Reiya, Roey

More Spanish names

Santiago, Lola, Xavier, Amaya, Alaia, Diego, Rio, Cruz, Elian, Jesus, Ximena, Javier, Esmeralda, Amayah, Reina, Cesar

Every Spanish name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Rey: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/rey, updated 20 October 2026.