Reed

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Reid in AU Australia, JM Jamaica, NZ New Zealand and 2 more and Read in IL Israel, ES Spain, NL Netherlands.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 2 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Reed is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• French surname24K records spelled Reed7 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: French, Catalan

  Also written Rééd, Rèēd, Rëēd, Rèed, Réèd

• Polish surname12K records spelled Reed30 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Poland, Czechia, United Kingdom

  Languages: Polish, Czech, Croatian

  Also written Reid, Ried, Rid, Рийд, Рид

• Dutch surname7.9K records spelled Reed2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Canada

  Also written Rêëd

• Indonesian surname6.6K records spelled Reed3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Indonesia, United Kingdom, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Řëëd

71 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Reed is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Any of various types of tall stiff perennial grass-like plants growing together in groups near water.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, English surname/name, from reed plant

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• In enm, alternative form of red (“counsel”)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Dutch, singular past indicative of rijden

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In pdt, ready, prepared

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 145 years between 1881–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Walter Reedb. 1851USAmerican physician and medical researcher (1851–1902)
• John Reedb. 1887USAmerican journalist, poet, and communist activist
• Donna Reedb. 1921USAmerican film and television actress
• Oliver Reedb. 1938GBBritish actor (1938–1999)
• Lou Reedb. 1942USAmerican rock musician (1942–2013)
• Willis Reedb. 1942USAmerican basketball player (1942–2023)
• Pamela Reedb. 1949USAmerican actress
• Peyton Reedb. 1964USAmerican film director
• Samantha Smithb. 1972USnot in their usual nameAmerican peace activist and child actress (1972–1985)
• Crystal Reedb. 1985USAmerican actress

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 373 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Reed?

We estimate roughly 282 thousand people bear Reed (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Reed have the most bearers?

Reed is most frequently recorded in the United Kingdom, where it is most often spelled reed.

How common is Reed compared with other names?

In the United Kingdom, Reed is the 25th most common surname of 1,169,970 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Reed mean?

Recorded meaning: (i) medieval nickname for a red-haired or ruddy-faced person, from Middle English read ‘red’; (ii) ‘person who lives in a woodland clearing’; (iii) ‘person from Read’, Lancashire, ‘headland frequented…