Given name & surname · also Late Latin
René
“reborn”·“one who has been reborn”
René is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “reborn” (Late Latin) and “one who has been reborn” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original LatinRenatus
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “reborn” (Late Latin) and “one who has been reborn” (French). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Late Latin.
René’s family of names
In Dutch usage, René has a diminutive in RENAAT. René has a feminine form in Renata. René has a related form in Renee.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
René has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its French roots to each of them.
12 related names in 17 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 27
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Renvariant
- Renevariant · Danish, Czech
- Reneevariant
- Rennvariant
- Renaevariant
- Renatovariant · Portuguese, Italian
- Rennyvariant
- Rennievariant
Show 19 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named René
- René DescartesFrench philosopher, mathematician, and scientist (1596–1650)
- Rainer Maria RilkeAustrian poet and writer (1875–1926)
- René MagritteBelgian surrealist (1898–1967)
- René GoscinnyFrench comic book artist and author (1926-1977)
- René Coty17th President of the French Republic (1882–1962)
- René LaennecFrench physician, inventor of stethoscope (1781-1826)
- René CassinFrench jurist (1887-1976)
- René GuénonFrench metaphysician (1886-1951)
- René PrévalEx-President of Haiti (1943-2017)
Characters named René: Aramis (The Three Musketeers and other Dumas novels).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love René, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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