Head to head · Boys' names
Raymond vs Ricardo
#394 vs #380 in 2025
Ricardo is a whisker ahead (#380 vs #394 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Ricardo is holding its place on the charts, Raymond is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Raymond leads 3 measures of 6; Ricardo leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Raymond #61, Ricardo #917 — Raymond higher
- 1890s: Raymond #27, Ricardo #766 — Raymond higher
- 1900s: Raymond #21, Ricardo #897 — Raymond higher
- 1910s: Raymond #17, Ricardo #996 — Raymond higher
- 1920s: Raymond #15, Ricardo #628 — Raymond higher
- 1930s: Raymond #19, Ricardo #422 — Raymond higher
- 1940s: Raymond #24, Ricardo #370 — Raymond higher
- 1950s: Raymond #37, Ricardo #224 — Raymond higher
- 1960s: Raymond #47, Ricardo #203 — Raymond higher
- 1970s: Raymond #61, Ricardo #148 — Raymond higher
- 1980s: Raymond #75, Ricardo #122 — Raymond higher
- 1990s: Raymond #120, Ricardo #123 — Raymond higher
- 2000s: Raymond #190, Ricardo #148 — Ricardo higher
- 2010s: Raymond #269, Ricardo #264 — Ricardo higher
- 2020s: Raymond #353, Ricardo #361 — Raymond higher
Raymond stood higher in 13 of 15 decades; Raymond took the 2020s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Raymond | Ricardo |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #61 | #917 |
| 1890s | #27 | #766 |
| 1900s | #21 | #897 |
| 1910s | #17 | #996 |
| 1920s | #15 | #628 |
| 1930s | #19 | #422 |
| 1940s | #24 | #370 |
| 1950s | #37 | #224 |
| 1960s | #47 | #203 |
| 1970s | #61 | #148 |
| 1980s | #75 | #122 |
| 1990s | #120 | #123 |
| 2000s | #190 | #148 |
| 2010s | #269 | #264 |
| 2020s | #353 | #361 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Raymond
counsel and protection
The two Germanic halves are among the commonest in the whole name stock: the first appears in Reginald and Ronald, the second in Edmund and Sigmund. The compound reached English through Norman French rather than directly.
Raginmund → Raimund → Raymond
How it traveled
Ramon Llull was a Mallorcan nobleman who abandoned court life in the thirteenth century, learned Arabic, and set out to prove Christianity to Muslim scholars by argument rather than force. To do it he built the Ars Magna: a set of concentric paper wheels lettered with basic concepts, which could be rotated to produce every possible combination of them.
Ricardo
strong in rule; a brave ruler
The two Germanic elements are a word for rule or power and one meaning hard or brave, which in that naming system was a compliment rather than a description. Spanish took the name from the Normans and French, replaced the final cluster with its own masculine ending, and has treated it as an ordinary native name ever since.
Ricohard → Richard → Ricardo
How it traveled
The most consequential argument ever made by a man with this surname is one almost every economics course still opens with. David Ricardo, a London stockbroker who had made a fortune and retired to write, set out to show that two countries both gain from trade even when one of them is better at making everything.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Raymond
RAY-mund
Two syllables with the weight at the front. French says ray-MOHN with the final consonant silent, and Spanish rah-MOHN.
- Ray — The standard short form; a standing name of its own and often given without the long name behind it.
- Ramon — The Spanish and Catalan form, used as a familiar name in bilingual families.
- Raymie — An affectionate form used inside families.
Ricardo
ree-KAR-doh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle, which is where Spanish puts it by default for a word ending in a vowel. English speakers often flatten the first vowel to rih, and both are heard.
- Ricky — The commonest familiar form in American English.
- Ricardito — The Spanish affectionate form, built with the regular diminutive.
- Cayo — A Spanish familiar form cut from the middle of the name rather than the front.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Raymond if you want…
- a name fewer children share#394 in 2025 — raymond will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name past its most crowded yearsRaymond is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesRaymond is 2 syllables to Ricardo's 3
- a long American recordRaymond was already in use when US records began in 1880
Choose Ricardo if you want…
- a name most people already know#380 in 2025, 833 babies that year
- a name with more sound in itRicardo runs 3 syllables, Raymond 2
- a newer arrivalRicardo entered the US charts in 1888
- a name that feels very nowRicardo is holding its place on the charts
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Raymond
Strengths
- It has a form in every western European language and is recognized across all of them.
- Ray is one of the most established short forms in English and stands alone as a name.
- It has a documented history running from the Franks through medieval Spain to the present.
To consider
- It is strongly associated with the first half of the twentieth century in America.
- One long-running sitcom title has attached itself for a whole generation.
- The spelling is recorded for a small number of girls, though it reads overwhelmingly as a boy's name.
Ricardo
Strengths
- It is at home in Spanish, Portuguese and English without being altered.
- Several short forms are available in each of those languages.
- Middle stress on three syllables is a comfortable and memorable rhythm.
To consider
- Ricky will attach itself whether or not the family wants it.
- English speakers will reduce the first vowel, which Spanish speakers may hear as wrong.
- The record holds it for daughters too, though very rarely.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Raymond
12%chance Raymond feels dated by 2040
Raymond has held the top-100 across 11 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
Ricardo
40%chance Ricardo feels dated by 2040
Ricardo sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Raymond and Ricardo in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists these names appear on
- Classics hiding in plain sight
- Greatest Generation names (born 1901–1927)
- Silent Generation names (born 1928–1945)
- Baby Boomer names (born 1946–1964)
- all guides
Where Raymond and Ricardo each sit in the library — alternatives in the same style, ranked by the same records.
Raymond or Ricardo — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Raymond or Ricardo?
- Ricardo, in 2025: Ricardo ranked #380 with 833 babies; Raymond ranked #394 with 807 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Raymond or Ricardo?
- Neither is rising. Over the last five years Raymond moved down 83 places; Ricardo moved down 41 places.
- Which is the older name, Raymond or Ricardo?
- Raymond was already in use when US records began in 1880; Ricardo entered the US charts in 1888. On the American record, Raymond is the older name.
- How many people are named Raymond and Ricardo?
- About 372,000 people named Raymond are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 133,000 people named Ricardo are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Raymonds or Ricardos in the classroom?
- Raymond will almost certainly be the only one in school. Ricardo will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
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