Rhea

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language 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◐

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

• Spanish given name38K records spelled Rhea15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Philippines, United States, Brazil, Argentina

  Languages: Spanish, Portuguese

  Also written Rhéa, Rhęå, Rhëä, Rhèa, Rheà

• a separate given name10K records spelled Rhea2 spellings in the group

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

  Also written Rhéa

• Indonesian given name7.8K records spelled Rhea3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Philippines, Indonesia, United States, Malaysia

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written Rhêâ

• Thai given name1.4K records spelled Rhea5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, Philippines, United States, India

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Reia, เรอา

65 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●

Rhea 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, /. Greek goddess, mother of Zeus;

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, satellite of Saturn; S. American

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, mother of Romulus and Remus

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, Rhea Silvia [Ilia]

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In English, flightless bird

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

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) — 144 years between 1882–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Rhea Mitchellb. 1890USAmerican actress (1890-1957)
• Rhea Chilesb. 1930USAmerican politician (1930-2015)
• Rhea Seddonb. 1947USsurgeon and former NASA astronaut
• Rhea Perlmanb. 1948USAmerican actress
• Deborah Rhea Seehornb. 1972USAmerican actress (born 1972)
• Rhea Harderb. 1976DEGerman actress
• Rhea Durhamb. 1978USAmerican model
• Rhea Kapoorb. 1987INIndian film producer
• Rhea Chakrabortyb. 1992INIndian actress
• Rhea Sharmab. 1995INIndian 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 · 531 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Rhea?

We estimate roughly 13 thousand people bear Rhea (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Rhea have the most bearers?

Rhea is most frequently recorded in the Philippines, where it is most often spelled rhea.

How common is Rhea compared with other names?

In the Philippines, Rhea is the 283rd most common given name of 462,140 given names recorded there.

Is Rhea a male or female name?

Rhea is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Rhea mean?

Recorded meaning: A large flightless bird of the order Rheiformes, native to South America.