Rhys

For the singer, see Rhys (singer).

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 [r̥ɨːs] in North Wales, [r̥iːs] in South Wales, and /riːs/ REESS in English.^[1] Anglicised forms of the name include Reece, Rees, Reese and Rice.

People with the given name

Pronunciation of the name 'Rhys'.

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 Jones (disambiguation), the name of several people
• Rhys Jenkins (born 1990), rugby union player
• 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 articles: Price (surname), Prys, and 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

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Rhys
• All pages with titles containing Rhys
• All pages with titles containing ap Rhys
• Reece (disambiguation)
• Rees (disambiguation)
• Reese (disambiguation)
• Reis (disambiguation)
• Rhees (disambiguation)
• Rhyce Shaw (born 1981) Australian rules football player
• Rhyse (disambiguation)
• Rice (disambiguation)
• Rise (disambiguation)
• Ryce (surname)
• Rys (disambiguation)
• Ryse (disambiguation)