Rhys
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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
[edit]History
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]- 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
[edit]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
[edit]- 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)
 
References
[edit]- ^ Wells, John (5 January 2010). "Rees, Rhys". John Wells's phonetic blog. Retrieved 5 March 2010.