Reece

Reece is a phonetic spelling of the Welsh Rhys, from the Old Welsh ris, meaning ardor or enthusiasm, a name borne by medieval Welsh princes who spent their lives contesting Norman encroachment. The English-friendly spelling smooths the Celtic edges and opens the name to unisex use, though it still reads slightly more masculine in the U.S. At rank 455, Reece sits comfortably in the fashionable one-syllable surname club with Reeves and Greer. A single long vowel between two soft consonants, the sound of skipping a stone across water. Bright, unpretentious, and quietly Welsh underneath a very American surface.