# 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 /riːs/ REESS in English. Anglicised forms of the name include Reece, Rees, Reese and Rice.

## People with the given name
### 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 Davies (priest), Welsh Anglican priest
* 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
* 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

* 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 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