Reese

Where Reese comes from

* As a given name and British surname generally from Welsh Rhys (literally “ardor”). * Chiefly in North America, the surname may also be from unrelated German Reese (literally “giant”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Reese
  • 1 syllable
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1924
    First appearance
    #4,434 among girls, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1976
    Reese Witherspoon born
    American actress
  3. 1977
    Reese Hoffa born
    American shot putter
  4. 2003
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
  5. 2012
    Peak, #128
    2,459 babies named Reese — more than any year before or since.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name
  • A female given name transferred from the surname, of 1980s and later American usage.
Namesakes
  • Reese Witherspoon · American actress, born 1976
  • Reese Hoffa · American shot putter, born 1977
  • Reese Brantmeier · US American tennis player, born 2004
  • Reese Stalder · American tennis player, born 1996
  • Reese Rideout · American pornographic actor, born 1982

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.