Rei (れい)

Rei is read れい and has 2 beats. Our data lists 3 spellings: 玲, 零 and 麗. Two are feminine and one works for either gender. All of them are on our hand-reviewed list of everyday names.

Reading

れ·い (2 beats)

Kanji spellings

3 in our data

Gender

Mostly feminine

Source

Hand-reviewed list of everyday names

Kanji spellings of Rei

One sound can be written with different kanji. Each spelling below is a different name on paper.

  • 玲
    れい
    CommonFeminine

    Tinkle of jade

  • 零
    れい
    CommonEither gender

    Zero, spirit

  • 麗
    れい
    CommonFeminine

    Lovely

The kanji in Rei

What each kanji means on its own, and in how many of the spellings above it appears.

  • 玲tinkling1 spelling
  • 零zero1 spelling
  • 麗lovely1 spelling

Rei with common surnames

Full names with a different spelling and surname on each card. Tap a card for the kanji breakdown.

Names that sound similar

Names that start or end with the same sounds.

Reiji (れいじ)Reira (れいら)Rena (れな)Ren (れん)

Other names that use 玲 (tinkling)

Rena (れな)Hiroe (ひろえ)

Rei on our lists

Topic pages that include a spelling of this name.

Japanese Names That Start with LMythical Japanese NamesNames From Japanese MythologyJapanese Princess NamesUnisex Japanese NamesBeautiful Japanese Names

Questions about Rei

Is Rei a boy's or a girl's name?

It depends on the spelling: 玲 is feminine, 零 works for either gender and 麗 is feminine.

What does Rei mean?

Rei is a sound, so the meaning comes from the kanji: 玲 reads as "tinkle of jade", 零 reads as "zero, spirit" and 麗 reads as "lovely". Those come from what each kanji means by itself, and parents may have had a fuller picture in mind.

How many ways can Rei be written in kanji?

Our data lists 3: 玲, 零 and 麗. Other spellings exist, so ask how a person writes their own name before you write it for them.

How do you pronounce Rei?

れい is 2 beats: れ · い. Give every beat the same length and keep vowels short and clear; Japanese has no stressed syllable the way English does.

Where this comes from

The spellings are from our hand-reviewed list of everyday names and from JMnedict, the open Japanese name dictionary. Meanings are built from what each kanji means on its own, so they describe the characters, not what a particular family had in mind.

How we check names · Content last reviewed: 2026-11-08.

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