Rhys

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title: "Rhys" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["welsh-language-surnames", "welsh-given-names", "welsh-masculine-given-names", "masculine-given-names"] topic_path: "general/welsh-language-surnames" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhys" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

Rhys or Rhŷs is a popular Welsh given name (usually male) that is famous in Welsh history and is also used as a surname. It originates from Deheubarth, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr.

It is pronounced in North Wales, in South Wales, and in English. Anglicised forms of the name include Reece, Rees, Reese and Rice.

People with the given name

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Rhys.wav" caption="Pronunciation of the name 'Rhys'."] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Reese.wav" caption="Pronunciation of the name 'Reese'."] ::

History

Rhys ap Gruffydd (1132–1197), 12th-century ruler of southern Wales
Sir Rhys ap Gruffydd (died 1356), 14th-century Welsh nobleman
Rhys ap Gruffydd (rebel) (1508–1531), executed 16th-century Welsh landowner
Rhys ap Tewdwr (died 1093), 11th-century prince of southern Wales
Rhys ap Thomas (1449–1525), a Welsh soldier and landholder who was instrumental in the victory of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth Field
Rhys Lewis (born 1532), MP for New Radnor Boroughs October 1553 and 1558
Rhys Hooe (c. 1599 – after 1655), Virginia colonist from Wales

20th and 21st centuries

Rhys Bobridge (born 1981), Australian singer and dancer
Rhys Chatham (born 1952), American avant-garde "guitar orchestra" composer
Rhys (singer) (Rhys Clarstedt, born 1997), Swedish-American singer
Rhys Coiro (born 1979), American film actor and singer
Rhys Dakin (born 2004), Australian-American football player
Rhys Darby (born 1974), stand-up comedian from New Zealand
Rhys Davies (born 1985), Welsh golfer
Rhys Day (born 1982), Welsh footballer
Rhys Evans (born 1982), English footballer
Rhys Frake-Waterfield, English filmmaker
Rhys Fulber (born 1970), Canadian musician (Front Line Assembly)
Rhys Gemmell (1896–1972), Australian tennis player
Rhys Hanbury (born 1985), Australian rugby league footballer
Rhys Hoskins (born 1993), American professional baseball player
Rhys Huber (born 1986), Canadian voice actor
Rhys Hughes (born 1966), Welsh writer
Rhys Ifans (born 1967), Welsh actor
Rhys Isaac, professor
Rhys James, English comedian
Rhys Jenkins (born 1990), rugby union player
Rhys Jones (disambiguation), the name of several people
Rhys McClenaghan (born 1999), Irish artistic gymnast
Rhys Millen (born 1972), car racer
Rhys Muldoon (born 1965), Australian actor
Rhys Nicholson (born 1990), Australian comedian and actor
Rhys Oakley (born 1980), Wales international rugby union player
Rhys Palmer (born 1989), Australian rules footballer
Rhys Patchell Welsh rugby union player
Rhys Priestland (born 1987), Welsh rugby union player
Rhys Rhys-Williams (1865–1955), British Liberal Party politician
Rhys Stanley (born 1990), Australian rules footballer
Rhys Taylor (born 1990), Welsh footballer
Rhys Thomas (comedian) (born 1978), English comedian and actor
Rhys M. Thomas (born 1982), Welsh international rugby union player
Rhys Wakefield (born 1988), Australian actor
Rhys Webb (born 1988), Welsh rugby union player
Rhys Wesser (born 1979), Australian professional rugby league footballer
Rhys Williams (rugby union, born 1980), Welsh rugby player
R. H. Williams (rugby union) (1930–1993), Welsh rugby player

People with the middle name or compound last name

Arthur Rhys-Davids (1897–1917), British flying ace
Brandon Rhys-Williams (1927–1988), British Conservative Party politician
Griff Rhys Jones (born 1953), Welsh comedian and presenter
John Rhys-Davies (born 1944), Welsh actor
John Rhys Davies (priest), Welsh Anglican priest
John Rhys Plumlee (born 2001), American football quarterback for the University of Central Florida Knights
Micael Rhys Bennett (born 1965), Native American broadcast announcer
Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born 1977), Irish actor
Samaire Rhys Armstrong, (born 1980), American actress
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, (born Sophie Rhys-Jones; 1965) member of the British royal family
Tim Rhys-Evans (born 1972), Welsh musician
T. Rhys Thomas, Wales international rugby union player
Rhys Rhys-Williams (1865–1955), British Liberal Party politician

People with the surname

Beti Rhys, (1907–2003), Welsh bookstore owner and author
Elen Rhys, (born 1983), Welsh actress
Elspeth Rhŷs (Elspeth Hughes-Davies), Welsh teacher, linguist, and campaigner for women's suffrage and education
Ernest Rhys (1859–1946), English writer
Gruff Rhys (born 1970), vocalist and guitarist
Jean Rhys (1890–1979), Caribbean writer
Sir John Rhŷs (1840–1915), Celtic scholar at Oxford
John Llewellyn Rhys, an airman memorialised by John Llewellyn Rhys prize
Keidrych Rhys (1915–1987), Welsh literary journalist and editor
Matthew Rhys (born 1974), Welsh actor
Morgan John Rhys (1760–1804), Baptist minister
Myvanwy Rhys, Welsh suffragist and historian
Paul Rhys (born 1963), Welsh television, film and theatre actor
Siôn Dafydd Rhys (1534 – c. 1609), Welsh physician and grammarian

Fictional characters

Lt Cmdr Gen Rhys, from Star Trek: Discovery, portrayed by Patrick Kwok-Choon.
Rhys (Rhysand), from the series A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
Knight Rhys, a member of the Brotherhood of steel in the video game Fallout 4
Rhys Winterborne from Marrying Winterborne, by Lisa Kleypas
Rhys, in the video game Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance
Rhys, in the Merry Gentry book series by Laurell K. Hamilton
Rhys, the central character of the first generation of the video game Phantasy Star III
Rhys Strongfork, a main player-character from the Tales from the Borderlands video game, CEO of the Atlas corporation in the video games Borderlands 3 and New Tales from the Borderlands
Rhys, in The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
Rhys Ashworth, on the British soap opera Hollyoaks
Rhys Dahl, in Switched by Amanda Hlcking
Rhys Dallows, from the video game Star Wars: Starfighter
Rhys Lawson, from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
Rhys Lewis, the eponymous subject of the 1885 novel by Daniel Owen
Rhys Maelwaedd, a character of the Deverry Cycle book series
Rhys Montrose, from the television series You
Rhys Rhysson, the Low King of the dwarfs in Terry Pratchett's Discworld books
Rhys Williams, in the BBC science fiction series Torchwood
Rhys, an elvish hunter in the Gilt-Leaf tribe, from the Lorwyn and Shadowmoor blocks of the collectible card game, Magic: The Gathering
Rhys Sutherland, in the Home and Away television series

The patronymic form

Main article: Price (surname), Prys, Preece

The surnames Price, Prys, Pris and Preece are derived from the Welsh ap Rhys meaning 'son of Rhys'. Notable people with this surname include:

John Prise or Price (1501–1555), also called Syr Siôn ap Rhys, Welsh scholar and author of the first book to be printed in Welsh,
Hywel ap Rhys (c. 840 – 886), ancient Welsh king of Glywysing
Tomos Prys (c. 1564 – 1634), Welsh soldier, sailor and poet

References

Wells, John. (5 January 2010). "Rees, Rhys". John Wells's phonetic blog.

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