Richmond
Masculine · “Rich hill”
Richmond is Norman French for a rich hill, and the Normans gave the name to so many places that it has traveled further than almost any other English place name — to Virginia, to California, to Yorkshire, to South Africa and to Australia.
How old is the name Richmond?
Richmond was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Richmond alive today was born around 1951, making them about 74 years old. About 2,300 people named Richmond are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Richmond most popular?
Richmond peaked in 1899, reaching #424 nationally. Today it ranks #5399, 4,975 places below that high. See the whole 1899 chart.
Where it comes from
From Riche Mont to Richmond
The story of Richmond
The Norman Alan Rufus built Richmond Castle in Yorkshire after the Conquest and gave it the name; the honor of Richmond became one of the great English titles, and Henry Tudor was Earl of Richmond before he was king. He renamed the Surrey palace of Sheen after it, and Richmond upon Thames took the name from the palace. From there it spread across the empire and the United States. As a given name it belongs to the nineteenth-century American fashion for place and surname names, peaking in 1899 alongside Chester, Vernon and Clarence, and it has been rare since 1930. It is also used in Ghana and Nigeria, where English place names entered the local name stock.
Meaning
Rich hill, splendid hill
From Old French riche, rich or splendid, and mont, hill. The reading is settled. Richmond in Yorkshire was named by its Norman builder in the eleventh century, and the Surrey Richmond was renamed by Henry VII after his earldom. The American Richmond in Virginia was named in 1737 for the view over the James, said to resemble the Thames at Richmond.
How the name formed
- Riche Mont
- Richmond
Related forms: Richemont
Pronouncing Richmond
RICH-mund
Two syllables, stress on the first. The second syllable is reduced in English despite the spelling; French Richemont gives both syllables full value.
Nicknames for Richmond
Moderate
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
- 192173 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #424reached in 1899
- Change vs 2022
- +13.3%17 in 2025, from 15
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.
Richmond in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Richemont in French — related form
Richmonds among us
people named Richmond are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 100,475 born in 2025 was named Richmond
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Richmond 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Richmond beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Richmond in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled, transparent and pleasant.
- Rich and Richie are both entirely ordinary short forms.
- Everyone can say and spell it on first sight.
- It is a place name several times over, and Americans will think of Virginia first.
- It reads as a surname on every form.
- It is strongly dated to the years around 1900 in American ears.
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Richmond
Masculine · #5399 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Richmonds are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,300 people named Richmond are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Richmond in 2025?
- Richmond ranks #5399 among US boy names in 2025, with 17 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Richmond?
- About 1 in every 100,475 US boys born in 2025 was named Richmond — 17 in all.
- Will my child share the name Richmond with classmates?
- Richmond will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Richmond
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Frazier#5399 · Franz#5399 · Demetrio#5399 · Rolan#5399 · Rayvon#5399 · Riddick#5399 · Laramie#5399 · Soloman#5399
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Richmond? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Richmond and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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