Meaning and background
The story behind Reese
Reese is an Anglicized form of the Welsh name Rhys and is used for both masculine and feminine names. Rhys comes from Old Welsh Ris, probably meaning ardor or enthusiasm; the dictionary keeps that meaning tentative. Behind the Name also notes the influence of actress Reese Witherspoon on feminine use. The spelling can therefore support a Welsh name connection or a personal namesake, without turning a probable ancient meaning into certainty.
- Origin
- Anglicized form of Rhys, from Old Welsh Ris, probably ardor or enthusiasm. Source · Source 2
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About Reese
Recorded as a dog’s name
Reese appears in 33 dog licence records in the 2026 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/ɹis/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the first syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/ɹis/ · primary stress on syllable 1R IY1 S
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (2)
Gender association: NYC licence-period records. Any dog can use this name.
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — extract_year 2026 — Dog licence periods, not unique dogs; NYC only. No owner-level fields retrieved.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.