Reiner
German origin meaning "pure, genuine".
Name Census estimates that about 309 living Americans carry the first name Reiner. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Reiner today is around 22 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reiner births was 2024 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reiner. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
309
~ 1 in 1,109,237 Americans
Peak year
2024
32 babies that year
Average age
22
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,569
Tracked since 1955
Census
Reiner in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 689 people with the first name Reiner, which placed it at #16,394 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#16,394
National first-name rank
People counted
689
689 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
61.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reiner
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reiner is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Reiner described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Reiner at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.2% · 422
- Hispanic or Latino22.9% · 158
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.9% · 82
- Two or more races3.0% · 21
- Black or African American0.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Popularity
Reiner: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reiner from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2020s, with 104 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reiner by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Reiner during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reiners live
Origin
Meaning and history of Reiner
The name Reiner has its origins in the German language, where it is derived from the Old German word "rain," meaning "pure" or "clean." This name likely emerged during the Middle Ages in various Germanic regions of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reiner can be found in the Frankish Annals, a historical chronicle from the 9th century that mentions a nobleman named Reiner who held significant influence in the court of Charlemagne. This suggests that the name was in use among the Frankish nobility during the Carolingian era.
In religious texts, the name Reiner appears in the 12th century as the name of a Benedictine abbot from Cluny, Reiner of Saint-Jacques, who played a role in the reforms of monastic life during that period. This further attests to the early usage of the name within Christian contexts in medieval Europe.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Reiner. One of the earliest was Reiner of Pisa (c. 1109 - c. 1160), an Italian mathematician and philosopher known for his influential work on algebraic equations and his contributions to the development of modern arithmetic.
Another prominent figure was Reiner Gemma Frisius (1508 - 1555), a Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer who made significant advancements in the field of navigation and contributed to the development of modern cartography.
In the realm of literature, Reiner Maria Rilke (1875 - 1926) was a renowned Austrian poet and novelist, widely considered one of the most influential figures in German literature of the 20th century. His works, such as the "Duino Elegies" and "Sonnets to Orpheus," explored themes of existentialism, spirituality, and the human condition.
In the field of politics, Reiner Kunze (1933 - 2022) was a German writer and activist who played a pivotal role in the peaceful revolution that led to the reunification of Germany. He was a prominent voice in the opposition movement against the East German regime and advocated for freedom of expression and human rights.
Finally, in the world of sports, Reiner Klimke (1936 - 1999) was a German equestrian and Olympic champion, widely regarded as one of the greatest dressage riders of all time. He won six Olympic gold medals and numerous other accolades throughout his illustrious career, cementing his place in the history of equestrian sports.
People
Reiner + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reiner as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Reiner: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reiner?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 309 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reiner going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,109,237 US residents.
Is Reiner a common name?
We classify Reiner as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 323 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reiner most popular?
The single biggest year for Reiner was 2024, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reiner is about 22 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reiner in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 689 people with the name Reiner, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,394 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Reiner in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Reiner?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reiner appears almost entirely male. Of the 684 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Reiner?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reiner is White at 61.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (22.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Reiner most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reiner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.2% (422 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Reiner in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reiner a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Reiner in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Reiner still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reiner in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Reiner can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Reiner?
You can see how many people have the name Reiner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.