Given name & surname · also German
Rein
Rein is a surname with more than one origin. It is used in English and Estonian.
Original GermanReinig
Meaning & origin
Where it comes from
As a German surname, it comes from German Rein.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
How it developed
From German Rein, from Proto-Germanic *raginą.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1953. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Rein through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 278
- 157 boys · 121 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 18
- #8,751 for girls · #11,705 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +32%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 12 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 8,751 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 462 as a first name in 2020; 3,695 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.
Rein’s family of names
In Estonian usage, Rein shares a linguistic root with the Latvian form REINIS. In English usage, Rein as a surname has a related form in Rain. In German usage, Rein as a surname has a related form in REINIG.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Rein has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
7 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 5
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 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Rein
- Rein TaaramäeEstonian road bicycle racer (born 1987)
- Rein AunEstonian athletics competitor (1940–1995)
- Rein LangEstonian politician (born 1957)
- Rein de Waalfield hockey player (1904–1985)
- Rein TaageperaEstonian-American political scientist and politician (born 1933)
- Rein RaudEstonian writer, academic (born 1961)
- Rein BoomsmaDutch footballer (1879-1943)
- Rein VeidemannEstonian writer and politician (born 1946)
- Rein RatasEstonian politician (1938-2022)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rein, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Amory
“ruler and lover of one's home”
54% boys · 46% girls
Berlin
“from the borderline”
26% boys · 74% girls
Carlin
“a free woman” · “a free man”
51% boys · 49% girls
Renn
Renn is a surname.
38% boys · 62% girls
Renny
“one who has been reborn” · “one who is helpful; generous”
42% boys · 58% girls
Ren
“resembling a water lily”
70% boys · 30% girls
Roe
“one who hunts deer”
46% boys · 54% girls
Revel
“rebel”
60% boys · 40% girls