Reef is an English word name taken from the coral "reef" or rocky "ridge" beneath the sea; the word goes back to the Old Norse rif, a rib. It belongs to the surf-and-ocean group of names with Cove, River and Ridge and is used mostly in beach-loving families in the United States and Australia. Reef stood at number 6717 in 2000, reached its best rank of number 1898 in 2021 and is number 2509 among boys' names in 2025.