Given name & surname · also German
Reef
“rope”
Reef is a surname, possibly from German (ultimately Proto-West Germanic).
Meaning & origin
What it means
Reef possibly goes back to German Reef, meaning “rope.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
Reef possibly comes from German, and ultimately from Proto-West Germanic.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
Possibly from German Reef, from Proto-West Germanic *hrif.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1996. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Reef through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,353
- 1,290 boys · 63 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 89 babies
- 2025
- 61
- #2,509 for boys · #12,896 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +17%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 54 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,509 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 9.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 7 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Florida had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (20). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 968 as a first name in 2020; 651 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Similar names
If you love Reef, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ripp
“powerful” · “bright, famous”
>99% boys
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“army”
>99% boys
Deriq
Deriq is a masculine given name from Germanic.
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Alarik
Alarik is a masculine given name from Swedish, ultimately from Proto-Germanic. It is used in Finnish.
>99% boys
Reiter
“sieve”
>99% boys
Bolt
Bolt is a surname from Dutch, ultimately from Germanic.
>99% boys
Ludovico
“loud, famous”
>99% boys
Graven
“moat, ditch”
>99% boys