Boy and girlPopular now
Rei
Rei (れい) is a Japanese name for boys and girls. Its best-known spelling is 怜, 怜 wise. It is popular today and has reached No. 34 in 2 different years between 2021 and 2022.
れ · い · れい · レイ
Ways to write Rei
The same sound can be written with different kanji, and each choice changes the meaning. These are the spellings that have appeared in Japan's yearly baby name rankings, most popular first.
怜
怜wise, clever
Boy, best No. 35 (2006–2024)玲
玲jingle of jewels
Boy, best No. 65 (2025)麗
麗lovely, beautiful
Girl, best No. 72 (2005–2013)怜
怜wise, clever
Girl, best No. 88 (2013)玲
玲jingle of jewels
Girl, best No. 91 (2008–2023)黎
黎dark, dawn
Boys and girls, 2 notable people on Wikidata零
零zero, drop
Boys and girls, 1 notable person on WikidataRarer spellings
These spellings of Rei appear in Japanese name records but are uncommon. Each uses a standard reading of its kanji.
玲依jingle of jewels + to rely onGirl
玲惟jingle of jewels + to thinkGirl
玲衣jingle of jewels + garmentGirl
玲一jingle of jewels + oneGirl
玲生jingle of jewels + lifeGirl
礼courtesyGirl
礼偉courtesy + greatGirl
礼衣courtesy + garmentGirl
Popularity in Japan
Where Rei has ranked among the most popular name readings each year. It reached No. 34 in 2 different years, most recently 2022.
Show the numbers
| Year | Girls | Boys |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | – | No. 46 |
| 2024 | No. 45 | No. 49 |
| 2022 | No. 34 | No. 37 |
| 2021 | – | No. 34 |
| 2020 | – | No. 37 |
| 2019 | No. 39 | No. 42 |
| 2017 | No. 49 | – |
| 2009 | – | No. 48 |
Source: Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance yearly baby name survey. It covers the top 10 names each year from 1912 to 2003, and the top 100 names and top 50 readings from 2004.
Famous people named Rei
Rei Higuchi 樋口 黎Japanese wrestler (born 1996)
Rei Kawakubo 玲Japanese fashion designer, business woman (1942-)
Ren Fujimura 藤村 怜Japanese association football player
From Wikidata: notable Japanese people with this given name.