Reyes
Of Spanish origin, meaning "kings" or "royalty".
Name Census estimates that about 4,906 living Americans carry the first name Reyes. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Reyes today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reyes births was 1999 (101 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reyes. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Reyes with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.9K
~ 1 in 69,864 Americans
Peak year
1999
101 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,570
Tracked since 1898
Census
Reyes in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 8,924 people with the first name Reyes, which placed it at #2,650 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
#2,650
National first-name rank
People counted
8.9K
8,924 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
96.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reyes
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reyes is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Reyes 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 Reyes at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.5% · 8,610
- White1.7% · 149
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 43
- Black or African American0.4% · 39
- Two or more races0.1% · 11
Gender
Gender distribution for Reyes
Reyes leans heavily male at 89.3% of total registrations, but 711 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Reyes as a male name
- Ranked #3,570 in 2024
- 32 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1999 (101 births)
Reyes as a female name
- Ranked #18,971 in 2011
- 5 female births in 2011
- Peak: 1920 (23 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reyes leans strongly male. 8,012 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 909 female bearers (10.2%).
Popularity
Reyes: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reyes from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 824 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Reyes remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Reyes 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 Reyes during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Reyes' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, California, New Mexico recorded the most babies named Reyes, while Washington, New Jersey, North Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 418 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reyes
The given name Reyes finds its origins in the Spanish language, deriving from the Spanish word "rey," which translates to "king" in English. This name has a long and rich history, tracing its roots back to the Middle Ages in Spain and the Iberian Peninsula.
The use of Reyes as a given name is believed to have emerged during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, in the late 15th century. During this period, the Spanish monarchy played a significant role in shaping the cultural and religious landscape of the region, and names related to royalty and nobility became popular.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Reyes can be found in the works of the Spanish Golden Age literature, where it appeared as a character name in plays and novels written by renowned authors such as Lope de Vega and Miguel de Cervantes. This literary representation highlights the name's association with power, authority, and regal status.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Reyes. One of the most famous was Reyes Católicos (1452-1504), the collective name given to Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile, the monarchs who united Spain and sponsored Christopher Columbus's voyages to the Americas.
Another prominent figure was Reyes Hurtado (1498-1548), a Spanish conquistador who played a crucial role in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. His contributions to the Spanish colonization efforts in the Americas have left a lasting impact on the region's history.
In the realm of literature, Reyes Huerta (1799-1839) was a renowned Mexican poet and journalist who championed liberal ideals and freedom of expression during the turbulent times of the Mexican War of Independence.
The name Reyes also found its way into the religious sphere, with notable figures like Reyes Fernández (1564-1624), a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who dedicated his life to spreading Christianity in the Americas and establishing educational institutions in South America.
Finally, Reyes Gaytán (1905-1988) was a Mexican boxer and actor who achieved fame in the early 20th century. He was known for his charismatic personality and successful boxing career, which earned him the nickname "El Ratón" (The Mouse).
These examples illustrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the name Reyes throughout history, cementing its place as a name with a rich cultural heritage and a strong connection to royalty, conquest, literature, and athletic prowess.
People
Reyes + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reyes 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
Reyes: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reyes?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,906 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reyes 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 69,864 US residents.
Is Reyes a common name?
We classify Reyes as "Rare". It ranks above 96.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,648 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reyes most popular?
The single biggest year for Reyes was 1999, when 101 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reyes is about 40 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reyes in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 8,924 people with the name Reyes, or 2.95 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,650 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 Reyes 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 Reyes?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reyes leans strongly male. 8,012 people counted with this name were male (89.8%), compared with 909 female bearers (10.2%). 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 Reyes?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reyes is Hispanic at 96.5%. The next largest groups are White (1.7%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.8%). 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 Reyes most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Reyes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.5% (8,610 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 Reyes in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reyes a male name?
Yes, 89.3% of people registered as Reyes 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 Reyes still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reyes 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 Reyes 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 have the name Reyes?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.