French origin
Source-reportedBorrowed from French René.
Sources for this account (1)
- Wiktionary: ReneCC-BY-SA-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
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A name. A world of connections.
French roots
/rəˈneɪ/ · English
01 / Meaning & origin
Rene is a unisex given name documented in English, Dutch, Danish and 2 other languages. English Wiktionary traces it to French René.
Separate records with matching spellings: Ren'E (st-41f95ce3b6), Rene (Danish, English), René (Czech, Danish), René (Czech, Danish), Renè (Danish, Finnish), Renė (Lithuanian), Réné (Norman), Rene' (st-e0830eb780)
Borrowed from French René.
02 / Across borders
Explore official naming statistics and documented language connections around the world.
The name atlas
18
countries in our sources
Select a country to follow Rene’s connections around the world.
10 countries with official statistics. Language records show cultural connections; they do not measure how common a name is.
Selected country
Statistics + language records
United States, 2025: 197 boys (rank 1091). Documented as a given name in English.
Explore United States4 of 18 countries
03 / By the numbers
Follow the spelling through the years, one published dataset at a time.
1880–2025 Spelling: Rene
Hover to explore a year. Use arrow keys when a chart point has focus.
Source: US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)
Integer application counts retained without rounding.
Per million is unavailable: this source has no matching published total.
| Year | Applications | Rank | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 5 | 909 | observed |
| 1881 | 5 | 866 | observed |
| 1882 | 6 | 837 | observed |
| 1883 | 8 | 677 | observed |
| 1884 | 5 | 971 | observed |
| 1885 | 5 | 936 | observed |
| 1886 | 7 | 758 | observed |
| 1887 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1888 | no value | no value | not covered |
| 1889 | 9 | 673 | observed |
| 1890 | 5 | 994 | observed |
| 1891 | 6 | 841 | observed |
| 1892 | 7 | 861 | observed |
| 1893 | 10 | 650 | observed |
| 1894 | 7 | 857 | observed |
| 1895 | 6 | 978 | observed |
| 1896 | 11 | 674 | observed |
| 1897 | 16 | 495 | observed |
| 1898 | 6 | 1,002 | observed |
| 1899 | 10 | 661 | observed |
| 1900 | 10 | 836 | observed |
| 1901 | 9 | 727 | observed |
| 1902 | 11 | 687 | observed |
| 1903 | 15 | 576 | observed |
| 1904 | 17 | 538 | observed |
| 1905 | 7 | 1,002 | observed |
| 1906 | 21 | 489 | observed |
| 1907 | 19 | 559 | observed |
| 1908 | 20 | 566 | observed |
| 1909 | 15 | 714 | observed |
| 1910 | 29 | 524 | observed |
| 1911 | 39 | 469 | observed |
| 1912 | 49 | 574 | observed |
| 1913 | 36 | 789 | observed |
| 1914 | 89 | 520 | observed |
| 1915 | 105 | 544 | observed |
| 1916 | 117 | 528 | observed |
| 1917 | 135 | 493 | observed |
| 1918 | 123 | 541 | observed |
| 1919 | 118 | 551 | observed |
| 1920 | 141 | 515 | observed |
| 1921 | 162 | 483 | observed |
| 1922 | 182 | 458 | observed |
| 1923 | 192 | 438 | observed |
| 1924 | 185 | 449 | observed |
| 1925 | 178 | 451 | observed |
| 1926 | 198 | 431 | observed |
| 1927 | 212 | 414 | observed |
| 1928 | 206 | 418 | observed |
| 1929 | 198 | 417 | observed |
| 1930 | 182 | 434 | observed |
| 1931 | 161 | 444 | observed |
| 1932 | 181 | 417 | observed |
| 1933 | 157 | 439 | observed |
| 1934 | 155 | 451 | observed |
| 1935 | 166 | 442 | observed |
| 1936 | 168 | 431 | observed |
| 1937 | 177 | 426 | observed |
| 1938 | 190 | 411 | observed |
| 1939 | 205 | 398 | observed |
| 1940 | 168 | 448 | observed |
| 1941 | 192 | 423 | observed |
| 1942 | 218 | 417 | observed |
| 1943 | 238 | 397 | observed |
| 1944 | 206 | 425 | observed |
| 1945 | 248 | 377 | observed |
| 1946 | 327 | 361 | observed |
| 1947 | 356 | 363 | observed |
| 1948 | 369 | 349 | observed |
| 1949 | 349 | 361 | observed |
| 1950 | 389 | 341 | observed |
| 1951 | 371 | 357 | observed |
| 1952 | 429 | 334 | observed |
| 1953 | 426 | 337 | observed |
| 1954 | 499 | 325 | observed |
| 1955 | 528 | 322 | observed |
| 1956 | 539 | 320 | observed |
| 1957 | 553 | 327 | observed |
| 1958 | 554 | 326 | observed |
| 1959 | 658 | 301 | observed |
| 1960 | 710 | 295 | observed |
| 1961 | 704 | 292 | observed |
| 1962 | 733 | 284 | observed |
| 1963 | 715 | 289 | observed |
| 1964 | 778 | 278 | observed |
| 1965 | 746 | 273 | observed |
| 1966 | 675 | 287 | observed |
| 1967 | 764 | 265 | observed |
| 1968 | 711 | 277 | observed |
| 1969 | 815 | 256 | observed |
| 1970 | 869 | 261 | observed |
| 1971 | 755 | 279 | observed |
| 1972 | 765 | 259 | observed |
| 1973 | 687 | 271 | observed |
| 1974 | 725 | 265 | observed |
| 1975 | 688 | 279 | observed |
| 1976 | 688 | 277 | observed |
| 1977 | 688 | 281 | observed |
| 1978 | 680 | 285 | observed |
| 1979 | 721 | 282 | observed |
| 1980 | 675 | 300 | observed |
| 1981 | 662 | 297 | observed |
| 1982 | 652 | 303 | observed |
| 1983 | 811 | 256 | observed |
| 1984 | 767 | 272 | observed |
| 1985 | 732 | 280 | observed |
| 1986 | 757 | 278 | observed |
| 1987 | 707 | 304 | observed |
| 1988 | 755 | 302 | observed |
| 1989 | 739 | 323 | observed |
| 1990 | 838 | 303 | observed |
| 1991 | 834 | 310 | observed |
| 1992 | 774 | 328 | observed |
| 1993 | 738 | 340 | observed |
| 1994 | 744 | 334 | observed |
| 1995 | 699 | 351 | observed |
| 1996 | 650 | 367 | observed |
| 1997 | 640 | 381 | observed |
| 1998 | 613 | 399 | observed |
| 1999 | 610 | 400 | observed |
| 2000 | 662 | 386 | observed |
| 2001 | 591 | 420 | observed |
| 2002 | 586 | 419 | observed |
| 2003 | 563 | 443 | observed |
| 2004 | 573 | 452 | observed |
| 2005 | 524 | 478 | observed |
| 2006 | 524 | 494 | observed |
| 2007 | 507 | 516 | observed |
| 2008 | 464 | 561 | observed |
| 2009 | 410 | 613 | observed |
| 2010 | 388 | 626 | observed |
| 2011 | 363 | 647 | observed |
| 2012 | 315 | 735 | observed |
| 2013 | 291 | 770 | observed |
| 2014 | 287 | 800 | observed |
| 2015 | 277 | 817 | observed |
| 2016 | 246 | 888 | observed |
| 2017 | 260 | 848 | observed |
| 2018 | 226 | 931 | observed |
| 2019 | 230 | 939 | observed |
| 2020 | 217 | 982 | observed |
| 2021 | 231 | 966 | observed |
| 2022 | 235 | 963 | observed |
| 2023 | 201 | 1,073 | observed |
| 2024 | 227 | 988 | observed |
| 2025 | 197 | 1,091 | observed |
Statistics count the spelling “Rene” as recorded by the publisher. When a spelling has several independent origins, the counts are not split between them. Counts measure applications. Gaps are years without a published value, not zeros.
Rates per million are unavailable for this series because no compatible denominator has been imported.
Retrieved 2026-10-15 · CC0-1.0
Read our methodology04 / Through time
Passages quoted verbatim from public-domain reference works. They reflect the scholarship of their time, not current consensus, and may use obsolete spellings.
René— “warrior of judgment”
…Again he was the cause of bitter woe to England, falling into the hands of King Ælle of Northumbria, and being put to death by being thrown into a pit filled with vipers, where, till his last breath, he chanted the grand death song that is worthy to stand beside the dirge of King Eric Blödaxe. It was revenge for his death that brought his fierce sons with that dire armament which ravaged England—the invasion that was fatal to Edmund of East Anglia, ruined the great abbeys of…
…Again he was the cause of bitter woe to England, falling into the hands of King Ælle of Northumbria, and being put to death by being thrown into a pit filled with vipers, where, till his last breath, he chanted the grand death song that is worthy to stand beside the dirge of King Eric Blödaxe. It was revenge for his death that brought his fierce sons with that dire armament which ravaged England—the invasion that was fatal to Edmund of East Anglia, ruined the great abbeys of the fens, and though finally mastered by Alfred, made the North of England Danish. This name of dread was brought to Normandy by his kindred, and figures in Domesday as Raynar, a frequent surname in England. In France it was cut down to René, a name that crept into the House of Anjou, and was bestowed on the prince—too much of a troubadour and knight-errant for a king—who vainly tried on so many crowns, and was hated in England because ‘Suffolk gave two dukedoms for his daughter.’ Why the feminine of this name, Renée, was chosen for the younger daughter of Louis XII., does not appear, but when she married into the House of Este, it was translated into Renata, and the Italians, in their revived classicalism,…
Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), Part VI, Chapter V (The Karling Romances), Section IV (Renaud) · Public domain (Project Gutenberg)
A little story to keep
Take the story of Rene with you. Create a personal name passport with its meaning, roots and connections.
06 / Behind the facts
Review status: Source-reported — no editorial review recorded yet. Last data change 2026-10-15.
SSA national baby names, 1880–2025 (CC0 redistribution)
US Social Security Administration; redistributed by nkrishnaswami · CC0-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Ontario top baby names, historical archive 1917–2013
Government of Ontario (Office of the Registrar General) · OGL-ON-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Ontario first baby names, 1913–2023 (verified redistribution)
Government of Ontario; redistributed by helloharun · OGL-ON-1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Norway — published individual first-name birth counts, 1945–2025
Statistics Norway (SSB) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Statistik Austria — Vornamen (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1): first names of live births, Austria, 1984-2025 (national counts from district rows)
Statistik Austria (Bundesanstalt Statistik Österreich) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
South Australia — Popular Baby Names, per-year lists including names given once, 1944-2017
Attorney-General's Department, South Australia (via data.sa.gov.au) · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
British Columbia — 100 Years of Popular Baby Names (first names used 5 or more times), 1926-2025
Government of British Columbia, Vital Statistics Agency · OGL-BC (Open Government License - British Columbia; version not stated on the page) · retrieved 2026-10-15
Fichier des prénoms — édition 2026 (naissances 1900 à 2025), fichier national
Insee (Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques) · LO-2.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
Ireland — babies' first names with three or more occurrences, 1964–2025
Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Spain — first names of residents, census snapshot 2025-01-01
Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Spain · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Finland — first given names of living Finnish citizens in Finland or abroad, 2026-08-03
Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland · CC-BY-4.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Baby names in England and Wales: 2025 (boys and girls workbooks, Table 6: all published names)
Office for National Statistics (ONS) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-14
NISRA — First Forenames Given to Babies Registered in Northern Ireland, 1997-2025 (full list)
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) · OGL-UK-3.0 · retrieved 2026-10-15
Wiktionary text: CC BY-SA 4.0. Wikidata: CC0. Commons recordings retain their individual file licences. Complete attribution is available in each group above and alongside each chart.