Given name & surname · also Old English
Reid
“a red-haired man; one who lives near the reeds”
Reid is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “a red-haired man; one who lives near the reeds.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a red-haired man; one who lives near the reeds.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1886. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Reid through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 41,783
- 40,791 boys · 992 girls
- Most popular year
- 2014
- 1,464 babies
- 2025
- 1,184
- #293 for boys · #4,253 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −10%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,150 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 293 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 10.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,432 in 2014. It also appeared in 34 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (79). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 31,675 as a first name in 2020; 109,275 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.
Reid’s family of names
Reid has a related form in Reed. Reid has a related form in Reed. Reid has a related form in Raed.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Reid
- Reid HoffmanAmerican co-founder of LinkedIn, venture capitalist, and authorborn 1967
- Reid ScottAmerican actor (born 1977)
- Reid EwingAmerican actor and musicianborn 1988
- Larry LaLondeAmerican guitaristborn 1968
- Reid RibbleAmerican politicianborn 1956
- Reid Venable MoranU.S. botanist (1916–2010)
- Reid FlairAmerican professional wrestler (1988–2013)
- Reid AndersonAmerican musician; bassist, composerborn 1970
- Reid BlackburnAmerican photographer (1952-1980)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Reid, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ryder
“an accomplished horsewoman” · “an accomplished horseman”
95% boys · 5% girls
Clark
“a cleric; a clerk”
98% boys · 2% girls
Braxton
“from Brock's town”
99% boys · 1% girls
Maxwell
“from Mack's spring”
98% boys · 2% girls
Tucker
“one who makes garments”
99% boys · 1% girls
King
“the royal ruler”
>99% boys
Bentley
“from the meadow of bent grass”
95% boys · 5% girls
Zane
“one who is bold”
99% boys · 1% girls