A variant of Renee or Rene, from Latin renatus, meaning reborn.
Reni is a name that belongs to no single culture, yet feels at home in many. In its most widespread European form, Reni derives from Renée — the French feminine form of René, from the Latin "renatus," meaning "reborn." This is a name with deep Christian resonance, tied to the concept of spiritual regeneration through baptism, and it was borne by the French philosopher René Descartes, whose "Cogito ergo sum" made him one of the defining minds of the Western tradition.
Reni as a shortened or standalone form strips away formality while preserving the meaning. In Japan, Reni (蓮衣, 礼仁, or other kanji combinations) carries entirely distinct meanings depending on the characters chosen — lotus and garment, courtesy and benevolence — reflecting the Japanese tradition of layering visual and sonic meaning simultaneously. The name has also appeared as a traditional feminine given name in Hungary and parts of central Europe, further broadening its geographic range.
Italian-speaking communities know it as a diminutive of Irene or Serena. The Italian Baroque painter Guido Reni, renowned for his luminous religious canvases and technical virtuosity, lends the name a particular artistic prestige in the art-historical imagination. His "Aurora" fresco remains one of the most celebrated ceiling paintings in Rome. Today, Reni functions as a gentle, international name — short enough to be modern, old enough to carry depth, and flexible enough to belong to any child on any continent.