MEANING & HISTORY
What does René mean?
René is the French form of Latin Renatus, meaning born again. The name carries a longstanding Christian rebirth association, while its accent and final spelling reflect French development.
René Descartes and René Magritte are familiar historical bearers of this form. The feminine counterpart is Renée, with an additional written e. These related spellings share the Latin root while retaining distinct histories of use in French and later borrowing languages.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
SpanishEtymology & source
Borrowed from French René. Doublet of Renato.
a male given name from French
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name René
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Rene A.V. Saguisag
Filipino politician
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
René Amabuyok
Filipino swimmer
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Wikidata
3
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Rene A.V. Saguisag, René Amabuyok
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
René in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to René
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Rene♂Unaccented form of René; reborn
- Gene♂♀Short form of Eugene, Eugenia or Genevieve
- Irene♀Peace
- Renee♂♀English spelling of Renée: born again
- Renie·Irene familiar form; possible Renee connection
- Arlene♀Variant of Arline, a 19th-century literary name
- Arsène♂French Arsenios-name form; virile
- Rea·Variant of Rhea or short form of Andrea
What rhymes with René?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore René further
Follow the sources
- Wikidata given-name item Q2624417 — René (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Rene A.V. Saguisag (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2624417 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — René Amabuyok (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q2624417 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — René (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — René (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.
- Behind the Name — Renatus (opens in a new tab)
Consulted account of the name’s formation, relevant root elements, or explicitly linked base name.