Reza
A masculine name meaning "content" or "satisfied" in Persian language.
Name Census estimates that about 1,134 living Americans carry the first name Reza. It is a predominantly male name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Reza today is around 25 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Reza births was 2022 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Reza. 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 Reza with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 302,253 Americans
Peak year
2022
51 babies that year
Average age
25
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,138
Tracked since 1966
Census
Reza in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,926 people with the first name Reza, which placed it at #3,958 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
#3,958
National first-name rank
People counted
4.9K
4,926 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
76.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reza
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reza is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%). 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 Reza 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 Reza at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.1% · 3,751
- Two or more races11.9% · 587
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.9% · 436
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 91
- Black or African American1.1% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Reza
Out of the 1,164 babies given the name Reza since 1880, 99.2% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Reza as a male name
- Ranked #3,138 in 2024
- 39 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2023 (46 births)
Reza as a female name
- Ranked #11,055 in 2022
- 9 female births in 2022
- Peak: 2022 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reza leans strongly male. 4,806 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 123 female bearers (2.5%).
Popularity
Reza: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Reza from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 254 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
Reza 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 Reza during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Rezas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Reza, while Pennsylvania, Texas, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Reza
The name Reza has its origins in the Persian language and culture, tracing back to the 6th century AD in ancient Persia (modern-day Iran). It is derived from the Persian word "Rizā," which means "contentment," "satisfaction," or "approval." This name has been prevalent in the Persian-speaking regions of the Middle East for centuries.
One of the earliest known references to the name Reza can be found in the Quran, the holy book of Islam. It appears in the context of describing the contentment of God and the satisfaction of believers. This association with religious texts contributed to the name's popularity among Muslims, particularly in Iran and surrounding areas.
In the 8th century AD, Reza gained significant prominence when it was given to the eighth Imam of Shia Islam, Ali al-Rida (also known as Imam Reza). Born in 766 AD in Medina and revered for his wisdom and piety, Imam Reza played a crucial role in the spread of Shia teachings and the preservation of Islamic knowledge. His shrine in Mashhad, Iran, became a major pilgrimage site for Shia Muslims.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Reza. One of the earliest recorded examples is Reza Abbasi, a renowned Persian painter and calligrapher who lived from 1565 to 1635. His intricate and detailed paintings, influenced by the Safavid artistic style, are celebrated for their technical mastery and artistic excellence.
Another prominent figure was Reza Shah Pahlavi, the founder of the Pahlavi dynasty and the Shah (ruler) of Iran from 1925 to 1941. He played a significant role in modernizing Iran and establishing a strong centralized government, although his rule was marked by authoritarian tendencies.
In the realm of literature, Reza Gholkhani (1940-2018) was a renowned Iranian poet and writer, known for his poetic works that explored themes of love, spirituality, and social commentary. His poetry collection, "The Scorpion on the Floor," is widely acclaimed and has been translated into multiple languages.
In the field of science, Reza Mansouri (1927-2005) was an Iranian physicist who made significant contributions to the theory of general relativity and its applications. He worked closely with prominent physicists like Albert Einstein and collaborated on groundbreaking research in the field of astrophysics.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Reza, reflecting its enduring presence and significance across various cultures and disciplines.
People
Reza + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Reza 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
Reza: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Reza?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,134 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Reza 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 302,253 US residents.
Is Reza a common name?
We classify Reza as "Rare". It ranks above 90.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,164 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Reza most popular?
The single biggest year for Reza was 2022, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Reza is about 25 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Reza in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,926 people with the name Reza, or 1.63 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,958 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 Reza 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 Reza?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Reza leans strongly male. 4,806 people counted with this name were male (97.5%), compared with 123 female bearers (2.5%). 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 Reza?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Reza is White at 76.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (11.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%). 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 Reza most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Reza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.1% (3,751 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 Reza in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Reza a male name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Reza 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 Reza still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Reza 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 Reza 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 Americans are named Reza?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.