boy's name
Reed
REED
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 38,872
the United States
#418
2025 births
Reed is a boy's name of English origin meaning "red" — a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion. It is not the water plant, despite the spelling, and that is the most common misreading of it.
- Reed is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2014, when 1,122 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 4,229 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1881.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Reed over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 76 |
| 1890s | 137 |
| 1900s | 175 |
| 1910s | 790 |
| 1920s | 1,232 |
| 1930s | 876 |
| 1940s | 1,385 |
| 1950s | 2,494 |
| 1960s | 1,706 |
| 1970s | 1,458 |
| 1980s | 2,241 |
| 1990s | 4,745 |
| 2000s | 5,800 |
| 2010s | 9,305 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,557 |
What Reed means
Reed means red-haired, from the Old English read. The plant word is spelled the same in modern English but comes from a different Old English word, hreod, and did not produce the surname.
Where Reed comes from
Reed comes from the Old English read, red, used as a byname for a person with red hair or a florid complexion — the same source as the surnames Read, Reid and Reade, with Reid the Scottish form. Hair-color nicknames are among the oldest English surnames, alongside Black, Brown and White. The reed plant is the Old English hreod, a separate word entirely, and although the two are homophones now they never met in the naming. Walter Reed, the army physician who established that yellow fever is mosquito-borne, is a notable American bearer. It appears in our records from 1881.
Reed in use
Reed charts in only three of the seven countries we track and peaked in 2014.
How popular is Reed?
In 2025, Reed was given to 784 babies in the United States, ranking #418 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Reed is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Reed
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Reed also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Reed over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Reed in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Reed
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Reed — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Reed
What does the name Reed mean?
Red — a nickname for someone with red hair or a ruddy complexion, from the Old English read.
Does Reed mean the plant?
No. The plant is the Old English hreod, a separate word. They are homophones that never met in the naming.
What is the difference between Reed and Reid?
Only the spelling and the region. Reid is the Scottish form of the same red-haired byname.
How popular is the name Reed?
In 2025, Reed was given to 784 babies in the United States, ranking #418 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Reed a girl's or a boy's name?
Reed is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Reed?
Reed has 1 syllable.
When was Reed most popular?
Reed peaked in 2014, when 1,122 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Reed a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Reed currently ranks #418 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.