René

René (born again or reborn in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus.

René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine form). In some non-Francophone countries, however, there exists the habit of giving the name René (sometimes spelled without an accent) to girls as well as boys. In addition, both forms are used as surnames (family names).

René as a first name given to boys in the United States reached its peaks in popularity in 1969 and 1983 when it ranked 256th. Since 1983 its popularity has steadily declined and it ranked 881st in 2016. René as a first name given to girls in the United States reached its peak in popularity in 1962 when it ranked 306th. The last year for which René was ranked in the top 1000 names given to girls in the United States was 1988.

Persons with the given name

 * René, Duke of Anjou (1409–1480), titular king of Naples and Jerusalem
 * René II, Duke of Lorraine (1451–1508), grandson of René of Anjou
 * René I, Viscount of Rohan (1516–1552), warrior of the Italian War of 1551–1559
 * René II, Viscount of Rohan (1550–1586), his huguenot son
 * René Angélil (1942–2016), Canadian music producer and agent
 * Rene Aranda (born 1990), American actress
 * René Auberjonois (1940–2019), American actor
 * René Ballet (1928–2017), French journalist, novelist and essayist
 * René Barents (born 1951), Dutch judge and legal scholar
 * René Bernards (born 1953), Dutch oncologist
 * René Binder (born 1992), Austrian racing driver
 * Cardinal René de Birague (1505–1583)
 * Rene Bitorajac (born 1972), Croatian actor
 * Rene Capo (1961–2009), Cuban-American judoka
 * René Carol (1920–1978), German singer
 * René Chamussy (1936–2016), French-Lebanese Jesuit priest and academic administrator
 * René Coty (1882–1962), former president of France
 * René Deltgen (1909–1979), Luxembourgian actor
 * René Descartes (1596–1650), French philosopher, scientist and mathematician
 * Rene Farrait (born 1967), Puerto Rican singer, member of boy band Menudo
 * René Favaloro (1923–2000), Argentine cardiac surgeon
 * René Fonck (1894–1953), French aviator and most successful pilot in World War I
 * René Frégni (born 1947), French novelist
 * René Froger (born 1960), Dutch Singer
 * René de Froulay de Tessé (1648–1725), French marshal
 * Rene Gagnon (1925–1979), American World War II veteran, raised the American flag during the battle of Iwo Jima
 * René Girard (1923-2015), French historian, literary critic, and philosopher
 * René Goscinny (1926–1977), French comic book editor and writer
 * René Goupil (1608–1642), Canadian Catholic martyr and saint
 * René Guénon (1886–1951), French metaphysician and Sufi initiate
 * René Henry Gracida (born 1923), American Catholic prelate
 * René Janssen (born 1959), Dutch nanotechnologist
 * Rene Kirby, American actor
 * René Kollo, German tenor
 * René Lacoste (1904-1997), French tennis player and businessman
 * René Lamps (1915–2007), French politician
 * René Lépine, Canadian businessman and real estate developer
 * René Lévesque, Canadian journalist and politician, premier of Quebec
 * René Magritte, Belgian surrealist painter
 * René Marqués, Puerto Rican short story writer and playwright
 * René Mauriès (1921–1999), French journalist, reporter and writer
 * Rene Mederos, Cuban poster artist and graphic designer
 * Rene Medvešek, Croatian actor
 * René Mornex (1927–2022), French doctor and academic
 * René Muñoz (1938–2000), Cuban actor and scriptwriter
 * René Obermann (born 1963), German businessman
 * René Pape, German opera singer
 * Rene Plasencia, (born 1973) Florida House of Representatives member
 * René Juan Pérez Joglar (born 1978), known professionally as Residente, is a Puerto Rican rapper, writer and filmmaker
 * Rene Ranger (born 1986), New Zealand rugby player
 * René Rast (born 1986), German racing driver
 * René Reyes, American baseball player
 * René Robert (1948–2021), Canadian ice hockey player
 * René Prêtre (born 1957), Swiss pediatric cardiovascular surgeon
 * René Reille (1835–1898), French soldier, industrialist, politician
 * René Rougeau (born 1986), American basketball player for Maccabi Haifa of the Israeli Basketball Premier League
 * René Rozet (1858–1939), French sculptor
 * Rene Russo (born 1954), American actress
 * René Simard, Canadian singer
 * René Sporleder (born 1969), German judoka
 * René Steinke, German actor
 * René Thom (1923–2002), French mathematician
 * René Toribio (1912–1990), Guadeloupean politician
 * René Vydarený (born 1981), Slovakian ice hockey player
 * René Villa, Costa Rican singer
 * René Weller (1953–2023), German boxer

The name was also given to the French cafe owner and war hero René Artois in popular British TV series 'Allo 'Allo!

Persons with this surname

 * Denise René (1919–2012), French art dealer
 * France-Albert René (1935–2019), second President of Seychelles
 * Lisa Rene (1978–1994), American murder victim
 * Mélanie René (born 1990), Swiss singer
 * Wendy Rene (1947–2014), American soul singer and songwriter

Variants in different languages

 * Renát Hungarian, Slovak
 * Renat Catalan, Polish
 * Renato Italian, Portuguese, Spanish
 * Renátus Slovak
 * Renatus Latin
 * René Czech, French, German, Slovak, Spanish, Dutch, Danish
 * Röné Hungarian
 * Ренат Russian