Baby Name of the Day: Reeve

The baby name Reeve combines a current sound with history to spare.

Thanks to Jess for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

WHAT DOES THE NAME REEVE MEAN?

There’s an obvious origin story for Reeve.

Surnames Reeve, Reeves, and Reever all come from a Middle English word for a bailiff or steward. The term likely evolved from the Old English gerefa – an officer of the king. Such a profession was necessary in the feudal system, part administrator and part law enforcement. 

The position required versatility and integrity. In many cases, a reeve was appointed for a year at a time, as opposed to higher-ranking officials who might serve ongoing. 

Many worked on a modest, local level. By the 10th century, there are officers known as High Reeves, and the word sheriff evolved from the phrase “shire reeve.”

In Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, “The Reeve’s Tale” is told by one such official. His name is Oswald, and he’s grown wealthy managing an estate.

Besides the job title in medieval England, Reeve might come from:

• A place name, possibly from the phrase atter eves – at the edge, typically of a forest.
• There’s also reave, a word referring a long, stone boundary wall, dating to the Bronze Age. They’re still visible in Dartmoor in Devon, England.
• Reever, Reiver, or Reaver – pick your spelling – can refer to a raider. Sir Walter Scott’s poem “The Reiver’s Wedding” was written in 1771.
• Rêve is the French word for dream. It rhymes with lev in levitate, so this seems like a stretch.
• It’s a nautical term, meaning to thread a line through blocks.

This puts the baby name Reeve is the same category as Clark (from clerk) and Parker (for one who maintained parklands). We love an old English occupational surname, so this name has potential. 

SURNAME AS FIRST NAME

Just like many surnames, it’s been occasionally used for children of either gender. 

The author Reeve Lindbergh is the daughter, and youngest child, of aviator Charles Lindbergh and author Anne Morrow Lindbergh. Born in 1945, she was named after her maternal grandmother, Elizabeth Reeve Cutter Morrow.

It sounds like a personal name, a cousin to another gender-neutral name, Reese. But it also rhymes with Eve and Steve and isn’t all that different from word names like River or Heath, plus it shares the “ree” sound of classic names like Irene and Marie, and current favorites like Reed/Reid and Henry. 

CHRISTOPHER + KEANU

The two most famous figures to answer to the name were both actors, both with versions of the surname.

Christopher Reeve played the Man of Steel in the 1978 blockbuster Superman. 

He’s no relation to George Reeves, the actor who played Superman on television in the 1950s.

Besides his star turn as a superhero, Reeve became a real life inspiration when an accident left him a quadriplegic. Reeve established himself as an advocate for research into spinal cord injuries.

There’s also Keanu Reeves, known for everything from action movies like The Matrix to comedies like Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure to animated hits like playing Duke Kaboom in the Toy Story franchise. 

REEVE AS A FIRST NAME

Plenty of traditional surnames have made the transition to given name. A few places parent might hear Reeve include:

• Caroline S. Cooney’s 1990 young adult novel The Face on the Milk Carton. In the story, a teenage girl named Janie discovers that she was kidnapped as child when she sees here face on a milk carton. In the story, Janie’s boyfriend Reeve helps her figure out her past. The book became a television movie a few years later.
• Video game Final Fantasy VII, released in 1997, gave us Reeve Tuesti.
• Actor Reeve Carney is the great-nephew of legendary Oscar- and Emmy-winning Honeymooners actor Art Carney. Carney played Peter Parker on Broadway in the Spider-Man musical, before graduating to Tony Award-winning Hadestown and now Great Gatsby. He was part of Showtime’s Penny Dreadful and played Tom Ford in House of Gucci. 
• There’s also Lawmen: Bass Reeves, a 2023 miniseries from Taylor Sheridan, creator of Yellowstone. FIXLINK It’s based on the true story of the first African American Deputy US Marshal west of the Mississippi River. David Oyelowo played the title role. A surname meaning sheriff was the perfect name for the character, but it also happened to be Reeves’ real name. He made more than 3,000 arrests during his career, and was known for mastering several languages – including Cherokee and Creek.

Despite these many references, chances are that most stories are similar to Reeve Lindbergh’s – a family name used as a first.

HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME REEVE?

The baby name Reeve has been in sparing use for years:

• For boys, Reeve debuted in the United States popularity data back in 1913, with five births. As of 2024, 34 boys received the name.
• Looking at baby girl names, Reeve entered the data in 1999, with seven births. In 2024, nine girls received the name.

That’s pretty rare. Despite Reeve’s historical roots, it has yet to really catch on. 

STRONG and RARE

The baby name Reeve steps out of medieval times and historical records to fit perfectly on 21st century playgrounds. There’s a strength and appealing sound to this name. 

It’s effortlessly unisex, avoids nicknames, and combines the elegance of a long-established choice with a very current sound. There’s just a hint of an edge to this name, possibly from the sharpness of the V sound.

If you’re looking for something that’s both brief and distinctive, Reeve might be the perfect baby name for your family.

Would you consider the name Reeve?

First published on November 20, 2013, this post was updated on April 04, 2024 and again on April 9, 2026.