Rhys
Meaning of Rhys
Rhys, pronounced “rees,” traces to the Old Welsh term for ardor and has been worn by rulers such as the 12th-century prince Rhys ap Gruffudd, whose exploits won him the epithet “Mab y Ddraig,” son of the dragon. The name’s crisp, vowelly silhouette migrated from Cymru to the wider Anglophone world and, in the United States, climbed from statistical obscurity in the 1950s to 946 births and a No. 331 rank in 2024—a rise that parallels the vogue for short Celtic choices like Liam and Finn. Contemporary bearers, including actor Rhys Ifans and crime-writer Rhys Bowen, keep it visible without diluting its heritage, while Latin-minded admirers might note that its energy echoes the maxim “Fortes fortuna adiuvat.” With equal measures of historical gravity and modern economy, Rhys offers parents a compact name that carries the quiet fire of Wales’s red dragon into the present day.
Pronunciation
Welsh
- Pronunced as rees (/riːs/)
U.S. Popularity Chart
States Popularity Chart
Notable People Named Rhys
| Rhys Hoskins is an American baseball first baseman for the Milwaukee Brewers who previously played for the Philadelphia Phillies. |
| Rhys Priestland is a retired Welsh rugby union fly half with 50 caps for Wales who played at the 2011 and 2015 World Cups and for Scarlets Bath and Cardiff Rugby. |
| Rhys Webb is a Welsh rugby union scrum half from Bridgend who rose through the Ospreys academy, spent a decade with the region, moved to Toulon, then returned to the Ospreys after a short stint at Bath. |
| Rhys Darby is a New Zealand actor and comedian whose energetic physical comedy with mime and sound effects earned Billy T Award nominations and the 2012 Fred Dagg Award. |
| Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor best known as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter, the Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man, and Otto Hightower in House of the Dragon. |
| Rhys Chatham is an American avant garde minimalist composer and multi instrumentalist famed for his guitar orchestra works who has lived in France since 1987. |
| Rhys McCabe is a Scottish football manager and player who most recently managed Scottish Championship club Airdrieonians. |
| Rhys Wakefield is an Australian actor and director known for Home and Away, the 2008 film The Black Balloon, and season 3 of the HBO series True Detective in 2019. |
| Rhys Joshua McClenaghan is a Northern Irish artistic gymnast who competes for both Ireland and Northern Ireland and is renowned as a leading pommel horse specialist. |
| Rhys Palmer is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Fremantle, Greater Western Sydney Giants, and Carlton in the AFL and won the Rising Star award in 2008. |
| Sir Rhys Hopkin Morris was a Welsh Liberal MP who served from 1923 to 1932 and again from 1945 to 1956. |
| Rhys Patchell is a Welsh rugby union fly half who plays for the Highlanders in Super Rugby, previously with the Scarlets and Cardiff Blues, and earned 22 caps for Wales from 2013 to 2023. |
| Rhys Lewis is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist on Decca Records, whose debut album Things I Chose to Remember came out in July 2020, followed by Corner of the Sky in January 2023. |
| Rhys Thomas is a Welsh director and producer known for Saturday Night Live and Documentary Now, and he won an Emmy in 2015. |
| Rhys Ruddock is a professional rugby union back row forward who played for Leinster and Ireland, often at 6 or 8, and captained the Ireland Under 20s to the 2010 Six Nations title. |
