The first name Rhea
A girl’s name from Greek meaning “ground”, “earth”, “to flow”.
Pronounced /ˈɹiː.ə/ 2 syllables Female Also a surname
Meaning and origin
Greek origin
Rhea means “ground”, “earth”, “to flow” in Greek.
Internationalism. Learned borrowing from Latin Rhea, from Ancient Greek Ῥέα (Rhéa). The origin of the Ancient Greek name is disputed. Suggested explanations connect it with ἔρα (éra, “ground, earth”) or ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow, stream”), while a Pre-Greek or Minoan origin has also been proposed. The moon of Saturn was discovered by Italian-French astronomer Giovanni Domenico Cassini in 1672. Its present name, after the mythological Rhea, was proposed by John Herschel in 1847 as part of his naming scheme for Saturn's moons. The asteroid 577 Rhea is likewise named after the mythological Rhea. Compare German Rhea, Finnish Rhea, French Rhéa, Spanish Rea, Italian Rea and English Rhea.
More names that mean earth, water.
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 109 girls were named Rhea, making it the 388th most popular girls’ name. It peaked in 2006, with 130 births (#333).
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Rhea with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Rhea at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 452 girls born in the United States were named Rhea, the 639th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 2023, when 577 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Rhea in other languages
Equivalent forms of the name, from Wiktionary
Spelled Rhea in Danish, Finnish and Norwegian too.
Famous people named Rhea
6 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Rhea PerlmanAmerican actress, born 1948
- Rhea MitchellAmerican actress (1890-1957)
- Rhea DurhamAmerican model, born 1978
- Rhea PillaiBritish model, born 1965
- Rhea HarderGerman actress, born 1976
- Rhea RajAmerican singer-songwriter (born 2000)
More Greek girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Rhea mean?
- Rhea means “ground”, “earth”, “to flow” in Greek.
- What is the origin of the name Rhea?
- Internationalism. Learned borrowing from Latin Rhea, from Ancient Greek Ῥέα (Rhéa). The origin of the Ancient Greek name is disputed. Suggested explanations connect it with ἔρα (éra, “ground, earth”) or ῥέω (rhéō, “to flow, stream”), while a Pre-Greek or Minoan origin has also been proposed. The…
- How popular is the name Rhea?
- In 2025, 109 girls born in England and Wales were named Rhea, ranking 388th. Its peak was 2006, with 130 births.
- Is Rhea a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 98% of the 20,145 US babies named Rhea since 1880 were girls.
- When was Rhea most popular?
- 2023 in the United States, when 577 babies were named Rhea, its highest rank at 527th.
- How do you pronounce Rhea?
- Rhea is /ˈɹiː.ə/, 2 syllables.
- Is Rhea also a surname?
- Yes. Rhea is used as a surname as well as a first name; its surname page has the origin and how many people carry it.