girl's name
Rhea
REE-uh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 26,188
the United States
#639
2025 births
Rhea is a girl's name of Greek origin borne by the Titan who was mother of Zeus. Its meaning is disputed between "flowing" and "earth," and it ranks 53rd in Northern Ireland.
- Rhea is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 2023, when 577 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 7,335 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1882.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Rhea 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 | 117 |
| 1890s | 481 |
| 1900s | 548 |
| 1910s | 1,400 |
| 1920s | 1,701 |
| 1930s | 1,146 |
| 1940s | 1,206 |
| 1950s | 1,299 |
| 1960s | 1,080 |
| 1970s | 1,001 |
| 1980s | 1,244 |
| 1990s | 1,174 |
| 2000s | 2,047 |
| 2010s | 2,736 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,965 |
What Rhea means
Rhea has no agreed meaning. Flowing, from the Greek rheo, is the most common reading; earth, from era, is the other serious proposal, and it fits her role as a mother goddess. Neither has been established.
Where Rhea comes from
Rhea is a Titan in Greek myth, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, wife of Cronus and mother of Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter and Hestia. The story that fixes her is the one where Cronus, warned he will be overthrown by his own child, swallows each infant at birth, and Rhea hides Zeus on Crete and hands her husband a swaddled stone instead. Her name is glossed as flowing, from rheo, and as earth, from an obscure era, and ancient sources already disagreed. Rome identified her with Ops and with Cybele. A separate Rhea Silvia is the Vestal mother of Romulus and Remus in the Roman foundation story, and the rhea bird of South America was named after the Titan in 1752 for no clear reason. In India, Riya is a distinct name from Sanskrit, and the two are often filed together in English-language lists though they are unrelated.
Rhea in use
Rhea ranks 53rd in Northern Ireland with 36 births in 2024, 85th in Ireland and 102nd in Scotland, and it is rising in our data with a peak in 2023 — a genuinely current name rather than a classical revival. It holds 639th in the United States and 390th in England and Wales. Our records carry it from 1882.
How popular is Rhea?
In 2025, Rhea was given to 452 babies in the United States, ranking #639 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Rhea 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.
How Rhea is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Rhéa | Rhéa is a rare spelling of Rhea, written with an acute accent and recorded about 78 times, mostly in France. | 78 |
Names that peaked alongside Rhea
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rhea also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rhea over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Rhea 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 Rhea
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rhea — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rhea
What does the name Rhea mean?
It is disputed. Flowing and earth are the two serious readings, and ancient sources already disagreed.
Who was Rhea in Greek mythology?
A Titan, wife of Cronus and mother of Zeus, who hid her son on Crete to save him from being swallowed.
Is Rhea the same as Riya?
No. Riya is a separate Sanskrit name, though English lists often file them together.
How popular is Rhea?
Fifty-third in Northern Ireland, 85th in Ireland and 102nd in Scotland.
Is Rhea a girl's or a boy's name?
Rhea is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Rhea?
Rhea has 2 syllables.
Is Rhea a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rhea currently ranks #53 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.