Given name & surname
Regis
“a kingly or regal man”
Regis is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a kingly or regal man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a kingly or regal man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1897. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Regis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5,536
- 5,193 boys · 343 girls
- Most popular year
- 1917
- 107 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,509 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 100% boys.
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,509 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 23.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 98 in 1917. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,367 as a first name in 2020; 3,171 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.
Regis’s family of names
Regis has a related form in Reagis. Regis has a related form in Reagys. Regis has a related form in Reegis.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Reggislikely variant
- Riegysvariant
- Riegisvariant
- Reagysvariant
- Reegysvariant
- Regyssvariant
- Regysvariant
- Reagisvariant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Regis
- Regis PhilbinAmerican television personality (1931–2020)
- RegisBrazilian association football playerborn 1973
- Regis ToomeyAmerican actor (1898–1991)
- Regis CordicAmerican actor (1926-1999)
- Regis ChakabvaZimbabwean cricketer (born 1987)
- Regis McKennaAmerican marketerborn 1939
- Regis CanevinAmerican Roman Catholic archbishop (1853-1927)
- Regis Henri PostAmerican politician and Governor of Puerto Rico1870–1944
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Regis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Rufus
“red(-haired )” · “a red-haired man”
>99% boys
Morris
“a dark-skinned man; Moorish”
>99% boys
Giles
“resembling a young goal”
>99% boys
Elmo
“a protector” · “an amiable man”
98% boys · 2% girls
Buster
“pockmark, boil”
>99% boys
Horace
“the keeper of time”
>99% boys
Oral
“an eloquent speaker”
85% boys · 15% girls
Laverne
Laverne is a feminine given name.
86% boys · 14% girls