Rhys

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 in North Wales,  in South Wales, and   in English. Anglicised forms of the name include Reece, Rees, Reese and Rice.

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 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 Plumlee (born 2001), American football quarterback for the University of Central Florida Knights
 * 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
 * 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
 * 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 Fallout 4
 * Rhys Winterborne from Marrying Winterborne, by Lisa Kleypas
 * Rhys, in the Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance video game
 * Rhys, in the Merry Gentry book series by Laurell K. Hamilton
 * Rhys, the central character of the first generation of Phantasy Star III
 * Rhys Strongfork, a main player-character from the Tales from the Borderlands video game, CEO of the Atlas corporation in Borderlands 3 and New Tales from the Borderlands video game
 * Rhys, in The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
 * Rhys Ashworth, on the British soap 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 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 (c. 1564 – 1634), Welsh soldier, sailor and poet