In 1949,kibbutz Re'im רעים was established by former Palmach members with the provisional name HaTzofim Vav (lit. Scouts F).
The kibbutz was subsequently named Tel Re'im (תל רעים Hill of Friends) after the Arabic translation of the nearby archaeological site of Tell Jemmeh.
The kibbuts was eventually renamed Re'im in memory of members of the gar'in who were killed in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.[
Re'im רעים, means 'friends', and was taken from the Book of Proverbs (18:24) to symbolize the members of the garin.