Etymology and Namesakes
If Rhea is indeed Greek, most ancient etymologists derive Rhea ('Ρέα) by metathesis from έρα "ground", but a tradition embodied in Plato and in Chrysippus connected the word with "ῥέω" (rheo), "flow", "discharge", which is what LSJ supports. Alternatively, the name Rhea may be connected with words for the pomegranate, ῥόα, later ῥοιά. Mythographer Karl Kerenyi suggested that the consonance might ultimately derive from a deeper, pre-Indo-European language layer: indeed the sign combination ro-ja, which is someone with great power, is attested in Linear A.
The name of the bird species rhea is derived from the goddess name Rhea.
The second largest moon of the planet Saturn is named after her.
Read more about this topic: Rhea (mythology)
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)