Renne
Feminine form of the name Rene, meaning "rebirth" from French origins.
Name Census estimates that about 539 living Americans carry the first name Renne. It is a predominantly female name (90.5% of registrations). The average person named Renne today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Renne births was 1971 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Renne. 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
539
~ 1 in 635,908 Americans
Peak year
1971
28 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
2008 SSA rank
#14,154
Tracked since 1944
Census
Renne in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 884 people with the first name Renne, which placed it at #13,601 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
#13,601
National first-name rank
People counted
884
884 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Renne
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Renne is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.6%) and Black (13.8%). 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 Renne 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 Renne at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.0% · 460
- Hispanic or Latino26.6% · 235
- Black or African American13.8% · 122
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 37
- Two or more races2.5% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Renne
Renne leans heavily female at 90.5% of total registrations, but 61 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Renne as a male name
- Ranked #14,154 in 2008
- 5 male births in 2008
- Peak: 1991 (9 births)
Renne as a female name
- Ranked #17,801 in 2003
- 5 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1971 (28 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Renne on both sides of the split. Of the 877 people counted with this name, 237 were male (27.0%) and 640 were female (73.0%).
Popularity
Renne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Renne from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 168 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Renne 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 Renne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rennes live
Origin
Meaning and history of Renne
The name Renne is believed to have its origins in the French language. It is derived from the Old French word "rene," which means "reborn" or "born again." This name was likely given to children born during the Christian celebration of Easter or those who were baptized as infants.
In medieval France, the name Renne was particularly popular among the nobility and upper classes. It was seen as a symbol of rebirth and spiritual renewal, reflecting the religious and cultural significance of Easter in Christian tradition.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Renne can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland." In this literary work, Renne is mentioned as the name of a minor character, a knight in the service of Charlemagne.
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, the name Renne was borne by several notable figures. Renne de Anjou (1409-1480) was a French nobleman and military leader who played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War. Renne de Montmorency (1492-1567) was a French courtier and diplomat who served under King Francis I.
In the 17th century, Renne Descartes (1596-1650) was a renowned French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist. He is often regarded as the father of modern philosophy and is best known for the famous quote, "I think, therefore I am."
During the 18th century, Renne-Robert Cavelier (1673-1719), also known as La Salle, was a French explorer who claimed much of the Mississippi River basin for France. His expedition played a crucial role in the colonization of North America.
Another notable figure with the name Renne was Renne Viviani (1863-1925), a French socialist politician and prime minister of France during the early years of World War I.
While the name Renne has its roots in French culture, it has been adopted and adapted in various forms across different languages and regions over the centuries, reflecting the cultural diffusion and exchange that has shaped the evolution of names throughout history.
People
Renne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Renne 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
Renne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Renne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 539 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Renne 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 635,908 US residents.
Is Renne a common name?
We classify Renne as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 639 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Renne most popular?
The single biggest year for Renne was 1971, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Renne is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Renne in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 884 people with the name Renne, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,601 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 Renne 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 Renne?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Renne on both sides of the split. Of the 877 people counted with this name, 237 were male (27.0%) and 640 were female (73.0%). 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 Renne?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Renne is White at 52.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (26.6%) and Black (13.8%). 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 Renne most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Renne in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.0% (460 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 Renne in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Renne a female name?
Yes, 90.5% of people registered as Renne in the SSA data are female. 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 Renne still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Renne 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 Renne 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 named Renne?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.