Richard
Masculine · “strong ruler”
Richard is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 2,577,552 boys against 9,530 girls since 1880. See Richard as a girl name
Richard is a hard ruler, and both halves say so. The Germanic compound joins ric, power or rule, with hard, meaning brave or severe in the older sense of the word — not cruel, but unyielding. The Normans brought it to England, three English kings carried it, and it has been in continuous use ever since without a single quiet century.
How old is the name Richard?
Richard was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Richard alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 1,499,000 people named Richard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Richard most popular?
Richard peaked in 1930, reaching #5 nationally. Today it ranks #234, 229 places below that high. See the whole 1930 chart.
Where it comes from
From Ricohard to Richard
The story of Richard
Three kings of England were called Richard and no two of them are remembered alike: the first spent almost his whole reign abroad on crusade and became a legend anyway, the second was deposed, and the third has been argued about for five centuries and was found under a car park. The name survived all of it. What is stranger is what English did to the short form: medieval speakers made pet names by rhyming, so Richard gave Rick, Rick gave Dick, and Robert gave Rob, then Bob, by exactly the same move. That is why the commonest short form of this name shares no sound with it at all.
Meaning
strong ruler
Germanic ric means rule or power — the same element that ends Frederick and Roderick and stands behind the German Reich — and hard means hardy, firm or brave. Compound names were assembled from prestigious elements rather than for a combined sense, but this pair happens to combine well, which is part of why it lasted. The derivation is not disputed anywhere. The English word rich comes from the same ric, by way of the idea that power and wealth are the same thing.
Cultural footprint
Richard Feynman (b. 1918) — Nobel physicist who made science irresistible
Richard Branson (b. 1950) — Virgin's founder-adventurer
Richard Wagner (b. 1813) — Composer of the epic Ring cycle
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Ricohard
- Richart
- Richard
Related forms: Richard · Richard · Riccardo · Ricardo · Ryszard · Richárd
Pronouncing Richard
RICH-urd
RICH-urd, two syllables, stress at the front, the second vowel reduced. French says ree-SHAR with the weight at the back and no final d. Spanish and Italian move the stress to the middle. The English reading has been stable for centuries.
Nicknames for Richard
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 195457,042 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #5reached in 1930
- Change vs 2022
- −10.8%1,505 in 2025, from 1,688
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Richard in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Richard in French — same name
- Richard in German — same name
- Riccardo in Italian — same name
- Ricardo in Spanish — same name
- Ryszard in Polish — same name
- Richárd in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Richards among us
people named Richard are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,135 born in 2025 was named Richard
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Joseph test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Richard's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Joseph climbed just as high around 1912, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Joseph's path sketches the road Richard is walking now.
Richard has held the top-100 across 13 different decades — it has never depended on fashion, and names like that read the same at any age.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Richard is headed
Richard should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Richard beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Richard in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It has been in continuous English use for nine hundred years and belongs to no single period.
- Rick and Rich are both complete working names, so the short form does not need the long one behind it.
- Every major European language has a version, so it crosses a border without translation.
- The meaning is clear, unpretentious and easy to say in three words.
- The traditional short form Dick has acquired a second meaning in English that has effectively retired it, and a child will learn this early.
- It is very strongly represented among older generations in America, and it reads that way to many people.
- A great many people already carry it, so a Richard will rarely be the only one in a workplace.
- This spelling is recorded for girls too, though so rarely that a girl named Richard will be read as a boy on every form; Ricarda carries the same root without that.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Richard to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Richard? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Richard
Masculine · #234 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Richards are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,499,000 people named Richard are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Richard in 2025?
- Richard ranks #234 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,505 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Richard?
- About 1 in every 1,135 US boys born in 2025 was named Richard — 1,505 in all.
- Will my child share the name Richard with classmates?
- Richard will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Richard
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Justin#233 · Patrick#235 · Brody#236 · Alex#232 · Kaiden#237 · Abel#231 · Simon#230 · Dallas#238
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Richard? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Richard and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Or jump into a head-to-head
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle