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 Deheubarth (; , thus 'the South') was a regional name for the Welsh kingdoms, realms of south Wales, particularly as opposed to kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd (Latin: ''Venedotia''). It is now used as a shorthand for the various realms united under ...

, an old region of South West Wales, with famous kings such as Rhys ap Tewdwr. It is pronounced in

North Wales North Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, region of Wales, encompassing its northernmost areas. It borders mid Wales to the south, England to the east, and the Irish Sea to the north and west. The area is highly mountainous and rural, with Snowdon ...

, in

South Wales South Wales ( ) is a Regions of Wales, loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the Historic counties of Wales, historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire ( ...

, and in English. Anglicised forms of the name include Reece, Rees, Reese and

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

People with the given name

History

Rhys ap Gruffydd Rhys ap Gruffydd or ap Gruffudd (often anglicised to "Griffith"; c. 1132 – 28 April 1197) was the ruler of the kingdom of Deheubarth in south Wales from 1155 to 1197. Today, he is commonly known as The Lord Rhys, in Welsh ''Yr Arglwydd Rhys' ...

(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 Sir Rhys ap Thomas (1449–1525) was a Welsh soldier and landholder who rose to prominence during the Wars of the Roses, and was instrumental in the victory of Henry Tudor at the Battle of Bosworth. He remained a faithful supporter of Henry ...

(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 Rhys Chatham (born September 19, 1952) is an American composer, guitarist, trumpet player, multi-instrumentalist (flutes in C, alto and bass, keyboard), primarily active in avant-garde and minimalist music. He is best known for his "guitar orche ...

(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 Rhys Montague Darby (born 21 March 1974) is a New Zealand actor and comedian. He is known for his energetic physical comedy routines, telling stories accompanied with mime, and sound effects of things such as machinery and animals. He was nomin ...

(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 Nowell Rhys Fulber (born October 10, 1970) is a Canadian electronic musician and producer. He is a member of Front Line Assembly and Delerium, along with Bill Leeb. He also records under his own name and under the name Conjure One. Biograph ...

(born 1970), Canadian musician (

Front Line Assembly Front Line Assembly (FLA) is a Canadian electro-industrial band formed by Bill Leeb in 1986 in music, 1986 after leaving Skinny Puppy. FLA has developed its own sound incorporating elements of electronic body music and electro-industrial. The ba ...

) * 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 Rhys Rodney Millen (born 6 September 1972) is a New Zealand-born racing driver. Nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rodney and older brother of Ryan, is one of the America's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a to ...

(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 Arthur Percival Foley Rhys-Davids, (26 September 1897 – 27 October 1917) was an English flying ace of the First World War. Rhys-Davids was born in 1897 to a distinguished family. His father was a professional academic and his mother a prolif ...

(1897–1917), British flying ace * Brandon Rhys-Williams (1927–1988), British Conservative Party politician *

Griff Rhys Jones Griffith Rhys Jones (born 16 November 1953) is a Welsh actor, comedian, writer and television presenter. He starred in a number of television series with his comedy partner, Mel Smith. He and Smith came to national attention in the 1980s for ...

(born 1953), Welsh comedian and presenter *

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

(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 Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (born Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones; 20 January 1965) is a member of the British royal family. She is married to Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, the youngest sibling of King Charles III. Sophie grew up in Brenchley, ...

, (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 Jean Rhys, ( ; born Ella Gwendoline Rees Williams; 24 August 1890 – 14 May 1979) was a novelist who was born and grew up in the Caribbean island of Dominica. From the age of 16, she resided mainly in England, where she was sent for her educa ...

(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 Matthew Rhys Evans ( ; born 8 November 1974) is a Welsh actor. He gained recognition for playing Kevin Walker in the family drama series '' Brothers & Sisters'' (2006–2011) and Philip Jennings in the spy drama series ''The Americans'' (2013 ...

(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 ''A Court of Thorns and Roses'' is a fantasy romance series by American author Sarah J. Maas, which follows the journey of 19-year-old Feyre Archeron after she is brought into the faerie lands of Prythian. The first book of the series, ''A Court ...

'' by Sarah J. Maas * Knight Rhys, a member of the Brotherhood of steel in the video game ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

'' * 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 ''Tales from the Borderlands'' is an episodic interactive comedy graphic adventure sci-fi video game based on the '' Borderlands'' series. It was developed by Telltale Games under license from Gearbox Software, the developer of the ''Borderland ...

'' video game, CEO of the Atlas corporation in the video games ''

Borderlands 3 ''Borderlands 3'' is a 2019 action role-playing first-person shooter video game developed by Gearbox Software and published by 2K. It is a sequel to 2012's '' Borderlands 2'', and the fourth entry in the main ''Borderlands'' series. ''Borderla ...

'' 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 In Modern English, the word "''you''" is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers. History ''You'' comes from ...

* 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

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 Tomos Prys (c.1564–1634) was a Welsh soldier, sailor and poet. He was the eldest son of Ellis Price MP, of Pentrefoelas, Plas Iolyn, Pentrefoelas, Denbighshire. Life He followed a seafaring life for many years, joining expeditions under both W ...

(c. 1564 – 1634), Welsh soldier, sailor and poet

References

{{given name, type=both Welsh-language surnames Welsh given names Welsh masculine given names