2000
#2,918
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.20
Uncommon Last name
Reis
A Portuguese and Sephardic Jewish occupational surname referring to a captain, chief, or leader.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,157 Americans carry the last name Reis. That puts it at #2,840 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,211 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reis surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Reis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,211
Census rank
#2,840
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,346 bearers of the surname Reis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2840th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reis, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reis
The surname REIS is of German and Portuguese origin, deriving from the Old German word "reisa" meaning journey or travel. It can also be traced back to the Portuguese word "rei", meaning king.
The name first appeared in historical records during the 12th century in various regions of Germany and Portugal. In Germany, it was prevalent in areas like Bavaria and Saxony, while in Portugal, it was concentrated around the regions of Lisbon and Porto.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name REIS can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, a collection of medieval charters and documents from Saxony, dating back to the year 1185. Here, a certain "Heinricus Reis" is mentioned as a landowner in the town of Meissen.
In Portugal, the name REIS gained prominence during the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries. Several notable explorers and navigators bore this surname, including Pedro Álvares Cabral (1467-1520), the Portuguese explorer who is credited with the discovery of Brazil in 1500.
Another famous bearer of the REIS surname was João Fernandes Reis (1632-1696), a Portuguese architect and military engineer who worked on fortifications and public buildings across the Portuguese empire, including the iconic Monastery of Batalha in central Portugal.
The name also appeared in various place names and older spellings, such as "Reisbach" in Bavaria, which translates to "Travel's Brook", and "Reiskirchen" in Hesse, meaning "Travel's Church".
Other notable individuals with the REIS surname throughout history include:
1. Ferdinand Reis (1784-1838), a German teacher and inventor, who co-invented the first telephone together with Philipp Reis in 1861.
2. Rachel Reis-Sobreiro (1901-1983), a Brazilian writer and poet, known for her contributions to the Modernist movement in Brazilian literature.
3. Isaac Jacob Reis (1899-1977), a South African-born British mathematician and physicist, known for his work on quantum mechanics and electromagnetism.
4. Heinrich Reis (1766-1828), a German businessman and philanthropist, who founded the Reis'sche Lehr- und Denkübungsanstalt, an educational institution in Frankfurt am Main.
5. António Ferreira Reis (1887-1967), a Portuguese politician and diplomat, who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1950 to 1958.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reis
Among Census respondents with the surname Reis, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Reis bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Reis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.9% · 10,486
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 715
- Two or more races3.9% · 477
- Black or African American3.0% · 365
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 260
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reis
Reis appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#2,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,165
+834 bearers (+7.4%)
Per 100,000 4.12
Rank movement Down 35 places
2020
#2,840
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,346
+181 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 4.13
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,918 | 11,331 | 4.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,953 | 12,165 | 4.12 | +834 bearers (+7.4%) | Down 35 places |
| 2020 | #2,840 | 12,346 | 4.13 | +181 bearers (+1.5%) | Up 113 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Reis surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #2,953 | #2,840 | 3.8% |
| Count | 12,165 | 12,346 | 1.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.12 | 4.13 | 0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reis bearers went from 12,165 to 12,346 (+1.5% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,953 to #2,840.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Reis
FAQ
Reis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reis?
Name Census estimates that about 14,157 living Americans carry the surname Reis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,211 residents.
How common is Reis?
Reis ranks #2,840 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,346 people with the surname Reis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,157), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Reis.
Has Reis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reis went from 12,165 recorded bearers to 12,346. That is an increase of 181 (+1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,953 to #2,840.
What does the Census say about the background of Reis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reis, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.8%) and Two or More Races (3.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Reis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (10,486 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.9%), Hispanic (5.8%), Two or More Races (3.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Reis (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Reis mean?
A Portuguese and Sephardic Jewish occupational surname referring to a captain, chief, or leader. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Reis (4.13 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Reis?
You can see how common the surname Reis is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.