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Why parents love Rei- Rei Ayanami IS anime's most iconic character.In Japanese: spirit, gratitude, AND beautiful.Three letters with a gentle, Japanese sound: RAY.The meaning spirit IS maximally ethereal.The most triply-meaningful Japanese name.
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The vibe of Rei
spiritgracefulJapaneseReispiritgratitudebeautifulEvangelionAyanamiiconicanime
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Origin & history of Rei
Japanese rei (spirit/gratitude/beautiful)
→ Rei
1
Japanese roots
Rei means spirit, gratitude, AND beautiful in Japanese. Ayanami IS anime's most iconic.
2
First recorded
Earliest known use: Japanese; Evangelion's Rei Ayanami (1995).
3
Today
Rei remains a beloved choice, ranking #4953 in the US. 969 babies have been named Rei since 1974.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Rei?
2020
peak year
Rei reached its widest reach during the 2020s. In 2020, 48 babies received the name (ranked #3267). In the present decade it sits well outside the top 1,000 (around #4953), with about 54 babies given the name annually. Rei's usage has held roughly steady recently. The all-time total comes to roughly 969 registrations.
Year-by-year registrations
1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
48
Babies named in peak year
(ranked #3,267)
(ranked #3,267)
54
Avg. per year
(last decade)
(last decade)
540
Total registrations
last 10 years
last 10 years
969
All-time total
(since 1880)
(since 1880)
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Numerology of Rei5
Life path number
The Adventurer
Freedom, adventure and curiosity.
Rei's Life Path 7 is the seeker's number — spirit seeking. People named Rei tend to be gentle, ethereal, and gifted at being the triple-meaning Japanese spirit.
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Triple-meaning Japanese spirit✦
Ayanami-iconic◈
Gratitude-beautiful◎
Three-letter♡
Gentle-etherealR9
E5
I9
Sum: 23 → Life path 5
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Personality of Rei🌍
Free spirit
Adventure calls and they always answer.
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Electric energy
Things happen around them — exciting, unexpected.
🦋
Adaptable
New situations are opportunities, never threats.
💬
Natural charmer
There's something magnetic about them.
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Famous people named ReiClick any name to view their Wikipedia page.
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If you like Rei, you may also love♩
Names that combine with ReiSibling pairings that share the timeless, classic energy of Rei.
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Middle names for ReiThe right middle name turns Rei into a complete story. Explore options for first-and-middle pairings, then last-name flow.
Want a personalised middle name for Rei? Try our dedicated generator with 1,000+ pairings.
♡ Generate middle name for Rei →✦
Numerology life path calculatorEnter any full name and date of birth to discover the life path number — a core numerological indicator of personality, purpose and destiny.
First name
Middle name (optional)
Last name
Date of birth
7
Life path number
How we calculated this
Rei is a beautiful choice.
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