Rees ( REESS)[1] is a very common Welsh name that traces back to the ancient Celts known as the Britons.[citation needed] The surname was first recorded in Carmarthenshire, and is derived from the personal name Rhys. Rhys is very common in Wales, and some parts of England. Rees is also a German surname.
Notable individuals named Rees include the following:
- Abraham Rees (1743–1825), compiler of Rees's Cyclopaedia and a botanist
- Alan Rees (1938–2024), British Formula One driver
- Albert E. Rees (1921–1992) American economist, presidential adviser, and Princeton provost.
- Albert E. Rees (actor) 19th-century comic opera actor
- Aneurin Rees (1858–1932), Wales rugby union international
- Angharad Rees (1949–2012), British actress
- Billy Rees (1924–1996), Welsh international footballer
- Brinley Rees (1919–2004), British classicist
- Celia Rees, British author
- Clive Rees, Wales and British Lions rugby union international
- Conway Rees (1870–1932), Welsh rugby union international
- Coralie Clarke Rees (1908–1972), an Australian author
- Dai Rees (1913–1983), Welsh golfer
- Dai Rees (scientist) (1936–2021), British biochemist and science administrator
- Dan Rees (rugby), Welsh international rugby player
- David Rees (disambiguation), several people
- Don Rees, warden of Hugh Stewart Hall in the University of Nottingham for 29 years
- Eberhard Rees (1908-1998), rocketry pioneer and the second director of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center
- Eleri Rees (born 1953), Welsh judge
- Elgan Rees, Wales and British Lions rugby union international
- Elmer Rees, British geometer
- Fernando Rees (born 1985), Brazilian auto racing driver
- Gareth Rees (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
- Gavin Rees (born 1980), Welsh professional boxer
- Geraint Rees, British neurologist and neuroscientist
- Goronwy Rees (1909–1979), Welsh journalist, academician, memoirist, and Soviet spy
- Grover J. Rees III (born 1951), American judge and diplomat
- Jason Rees, Welsh footballer
- Jean Rees (1914–2004), British artist
- Jeremy Rees (1937–2003), British arts administrator
- Jerry Rees, U.S. animator and film director
- John Rees (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
- Idwal Rees (1910–1991), Wales rugby union captain
- Ivor Rees (1893–1967), Welsh soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
- Katie Rees, a former American beauty queen
- Laurence Rees, (born 1957), British historian, author and documentary filmmaker
- Leighton Rees (1940–2003), Welsh darts player
- Lionel Wilmot Brabazon Rees (1884–1955), Welsh World War I flying ace
- Lloyd Rees (1895–1988), Australian landscape painter
- Martin Rees, Baron Rees of Ludlow (born 1942), British Astronomer Royal
- Matt Rees, (born 1967) Welsh novelist
- Matthew Rees, Wales and British Lions rugby union international
- Merlyn Rees (1920–2006), British Labour party politician and minister
- Milsom Rees (1866–1952), Welsh surgeon
- Nathan Rees, (born 1968) Australian politician with the Labor Party, and Premier of New South Wales
- Nigel Rees (born 1944), English writer and broadcaster
- Nigel Rees (footballer) (born 1953), Welsh footballer
- Norman J. Rees (c. 1906 – 1976), double agent for USSR and FBI
- Peter Rees (1926–2008), British Conservative party politician
- Paul Rees (born 1986), British racing driver
- Robert Rees (disambiguation), several people
- Ronnie Rees, Welsh international footballer
- Roger Rees (1944–2015), Welsh actor
- Ronnie Rees (born 1944), Welsh footballer
- Stuart Rees, director of the Sydney Peace Foundation
- Thomas Rees (disambiguation), multiple people, including:
- William Rees (disambiguation), several people