Given name & surname · also Dutch
Rhett
“a well-spoken man”
Rhett moved from a surname into given-name use through a prominent literary character.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a well-spoken man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Dutch.
How it developed
From Dutch de Raedt, from Middle Dutch raet (“advice”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Rhett Butler in Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind brought the surname Rhett into wider use as a first name. The surname connects with Dutch de Raedt and an older word for “advice.”
Rhett through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 36,920
- 36,669 boys · 251 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 2,554 babies
- 2025
- 1,955
- #188 for boys · #6,275 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +2%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,936 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 188 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 2.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 19 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (168). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 21,549 as a first name in 2020; 905 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.
Rhett’s family of names
Rhett has a feminine form in Rheta. In English usage, Rhett has a related form in Rhys. Rhett has a feminine form in Rhetta.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Rhett
- Rhett ReeseAmerican screenwriterborn 1975
- Rhett DaviesBritish record producerborn 1949
- Rhett ForresterAmerican musician (1956-1994)
- Rhett BernsteinNorwegian association football player1987–2026
- Rhett AkinsAmerican singer and songwriterborn 1969
- Rhett RakhshaniAmerican ice hockey playerborn 1988
- Rhett TitusAmerican professional wrestlerborn 1987
- Rhett WarrenerCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1976
- Rhett LowderAmerican baseball playerborn 2002
Characters named Rhett: Rhett Butler (Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Rhett, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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98% boys · 2% girls
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94% boys · 6% girls
Pierce
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Hansel
“God is gracious”
>99% boys