# Ries (surname)

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

A surname from German.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | German |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 7,258 |
| US rank (2010) | 4,857 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 42,539 people |
| Change since 2000 | +4.3% (6,960 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

* As a south German and Jewish surname, from the noun Riese (“giant”). * Also as a German surname, from Middle Low German rīs (“brushwood, twig”), from Old Saxon hrīs. * Also as a German surname, variant of Reis, Riess. * As as Welsh surname, variant of Rice.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Ries 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) | 94% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 1.6% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.5% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.3% |
| Two or more races | 1.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Ries in Belgium, the United States and Austria.

## People named Ries

- Julien Ries, Belgian Roman Catholic priest, cardinal, and historian (1920–2013)
- Al Ries, American advertising executive
- Frédérique Ries, Belgian politician
- Heinrich Ries, American geologist (1871–1951)
- Wolfgang Ries, Austrian astronomer

## Similar surnames

Rice, Rios, Rees, Reis, Reiss, Riess, Ruis, Riese, Riso, Risso, Riggs, Ricks.

## 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.