Meanings
proper noun
- An American surname from Dutch.
- A male given name transferred from the surname.
“Oh, Scarlett, he has the most terrible reputation. His name is Rhett Butler and he's from Charleston and his folks are some of the nicest people there, but they won't even speak to him. Caro Rhett told me about him last summer.
1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part I, page 99
Origin
- Middle Dutchraet“advice”
- Dutchde Raedt
- EnglishRhett
Name of a South Carolina family, anglicized from Dutch de Raedt, from Middle Dutch raet (“advice”).
More words from Dutch, Middle Dutch
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
Rhett. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhett
MLA
“Rhett.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhett. Accessed November 2, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Rhett,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Rhett.
Source: Rhett on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.