Rebel

Meaning of Rebel

Rebel began life as a plainspoken English word derived from the Latin rebellis, “one who resists,” and it retains that defiant edge when it crosses the line into given-name territory. Used for boys and girls alike since at least 1912 in U.S. records, it has never broken into the mainstream, yet a steady trickle of parents—about 50 to 130 a year—keep it hovering in the lower half of the Top 1000. Cultural touchpoints range from the Hollywood classic “Rebel Without a Cause” to Australian comic actress Rebel Wilson, and even the ever-present folklore of the American “rebel” in music and sport. Because the word carries no fixed religious or ethnic ties, it travels easily across backgrounds, though the name’s built-in attitude may invite both admiration and the occasional raised eyebrow. In practice, Rebel signals a fond hope for independence rather than outright insurrection, and its unisex profile offers a crisp, two-syllable alternative to more conventional virtue names like Justice or True.