Rhys

Rhys is a popular Welsh given name (usually male), which is famous in Welsh history and which is also used as a surname. It is pronounced [r̥ɨːs] in North Wales, [r̥iːs] in South Wales, and /riːs/ in English. Anglicised forms of the name include Rice, Rees, Reese and Reece.

Given name

Welsh history

• 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 ap Gruffydd (1132–1197), 12th-century ruler of southern Wales
• Rhys ap Tewdwr (died 1093), 11th-century prince of southern Wales
• Rhys Lewis (born 1532), MP for New Radnor Boroughs October 1553 and 1558
• Rhys Lewis (1571 MP), MP for New Radnor Boroughs 1571

Modern times

As a first name, Rhys may refer to:

• Rhys Bobridge (born 1981), Australian singer and dancer
• Rhys Chatham (born 1952), American avant-garde "guitar orchestra" composer
• 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 Fulber (born 1970), member of Front Line Assembly
• Rhys Gemmell (born 1896), former tennis player from Australia
• Rhys Hanbury (born 1985), Australian rugby league footballer
• Rhys Hughes (born 1966), Welsh writer
• Rhys Ifans (born 1967), Welsh actor
• Rhys Jenkins (born 1990), rugby union player
• Rhys L. Isaac, professor
• Rhys Millen, car racer
• Rhys Muldoon (born 1965), Australian actor
• Rhys M. Thomas (born 1982), Welsh international rugby union player
• 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 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 player, born 1980) (born 1980),Welsh rugby union player
• Rhys H. Williams (rugby player) (1930–1993), Welsh rugby union player
• T. Rhys Thomas, Wales international rugby union player

Surname

As a last name, Rhys may refer to:

• Ernest Rhys (1859–1946), English writer
• Griff Rhys Jones (born 1953), Welsh comedian and presenter
• Gruff Rhys (born 1970), vocalist and guitarist
• Jean Rhys (1890–1979), Caribbean writer
• Sir John Rhys (1840–1915), Celtic scholar at Oxford
• John Rhys-Davies (born 1944), Welsh actor
• John Llewellyn Rhys, an airman memorialised by John Llewellyn Rhys prize
• Jonathan Rhys Meyers (born 1977), Irish actor
• 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
• Phillip Rhys (born 1974), English actor

Fictional characters

Fictional characters with the name Rhys include:

• Rhys, the central character of the first generation of Phantasy Star III
• Rhys, a main player-character from the Tales from the Borderlands video game
• Rhys, in Laurell K. Hamilton's Merry Gentry book series
• Rhys, in Gail Carson Levine's The Two Princesses of Bamarre
• Rhys, in the Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance video game
• Rhys Ashworth, on the British soap Hollyoaks
• Rhys Dahl, in Amanda Hocking's Switched
• Rhys Lawson, from the Australian soap opera Neighbours
• Rhys Lewis, the eponymous subject of an 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 Magic: The Gathering, a collectible card game
• Rhys Sutherland, in the Home and Away television series