How to say it
REID
/riːd/
Masculine
Reid
Red-haired
What it means
A Scottish and English surname from Old English read, 'red,' originally a nickname for someone red-haired or ruddy.
Reid is a surname that started as a plain description: read, the Old English word for 'red,' pinned on someone with red hair or a ruddy face. It travels in three matching spellings, Reid, Reed, and Read, all the same name. As a first name it is crisp, one syllable, and unfussy, sitting easily with Cole, Finn, and Tate. It reads clean and a little preppy.
Popularity over time
peaked at #259 in 2013, currently #293 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Spelling
Reid, Reed, and Read are the same surname; Reid is the most common given-name spelling.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Harry Reid long-serving US senator and Senate Majority Leader
Spelling variants
- Reed
- Read
- Reide
Names with the same feeling
See Reid from another angle
By style