The Rey surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,074 people carried this name — #4,403 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 36,500 people counted. That is up 10% from 7,348 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Rey surname
Multiple origins; in most cases borrowed from Spanish Rey.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Rey» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 16,276 people named Rey.
526 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 103 départements, most often Isère.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 15,895 people named Rey live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
4,524 people named Rey live in Switzerland.
They live in 24 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Valais.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Poland’s population register
76 people named Rey have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 133 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 49 people named Rey live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
48 people named Rey is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Rey in American newspapers,
1874.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 512,245 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Rey,
with a public archive behind them.
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Mikołaj Rej 1505–1569 · writer -
Santiago Rey N. d. 1945 · Spanish Maquis
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Józef Rey d. 1777
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Jan Michał Rey d. 1786
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Victorine Rey d. 1895
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Jean Rey d. 1932
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Rey.
- Revello 359 · U.S. census
- Revers 264 · U.S. census
- Revilla 2,527 · U.S. census
- Reville 411 · U.S. census
- Revuelta 761 · U.S. census
- Rex 5,758 · U.S. census
- Reyes 327,904 · U.S. census
- Reymann 259 · U.S. census
- Reymond 214 · U.S. census
- Reynaert 113 · U.S. census
- Reynard 1,050 · U.S. census
- Reynaud 817 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Rey is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.