# Reese (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/reese/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Welsh |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 73,919 |
| US rank (2010) | 445 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 4,177 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.0% (71,754 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ɹis/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a given name and British surname generally from Welsh Rhys (literally “ardor”). * Chiefly in North America, the surname may also be from unrelated German Reese (literally “giant”).

## Who carries it

Share of people named Reese in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 66% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 28% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.6% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Reese in the United States and Australia.

## People named Reese

- Brittney Reese, American female Olympic athlete
- Della Reese, American actress and singer (1931-2017)
- Angel Reese, American basketball player (born 2002)
- Chip Reese, American poker player (1951–2007)
- Shayne Reese, Australian swimmer, Olympic gold medallist, world champion, former world record-holder
- Melissa Reese, American musician
- Pee Wee Reese, American baseball player and coach
- Gustave Reese, American musicologist (1899–1977)
- Rhett Reese, American screenwriter
- Lil Reese, American rapper (born 1993)
- Mike Reese, American politician
- Alex Reese, American basketball player (born 1999)

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Reece, Rees, Reis, Riese, Reyes, Reschke, Resh, Ruiz, Ross, Rose, Rice, Rios.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.