Rico
Masculine · “ruler”
Rico is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 9,926 boys against 45 girls since 1880.
Rico is the back of Enrico or Ricardo — the Germanic ric, ruler, which closes more European names than almost any other element.
How old is the name Rico?
Rico first appears in US birth records in 1915 — 110 years ago. The typical Rico alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 9,300 people named Rico are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Rico most popular?
Rico peaked in 1976, reaching #436 nationally. Today it ranks #1793, 1,357 places below that high. See the whole 1976 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From ric to Rico
The story of Rico
The ric element was among the most productive in Germanic naming and passed into every European language. Italian and Spanish made Rico as an everyday short form. Spanish- and Italian-speaking families brought it to America, where it appears in the registers steadily and is in current use.
Meaning
ruler, powerful
From the Germanic ric, 'ruler' or 'power', which closes Henry, Richard, Frederick, Roderick and Eric. Rico is a short form of Enrico, Federico or Ricardo in Italian and Spanish. The Spanish word rico, 'rich', is from the same Germanic root by a different path.
How the name formed
- ric
- Enrico
- Rico
Related forms: Rico · Rico · Rico
Pronouncing Rico
REE-koh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Italian and Spanish say it the same way with a rolled r.
Nicknames for Rico
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
- 1915
- Most boys named
- 1991319 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #436reached in 1976
- Change vs 2023
- −16.8%89 in 2025, from 107
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.
Rico in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Rico in Italian — same name
- Rico in Spanish — same name
- Rico in German — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Ricos among us
people named Rico are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 19,192 born in 2025 was named Rico
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 Blair test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Rico's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Blair climbed just as high around 1953, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Blair's path sketches the road Rico is walking now.
Rico 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
Where Rico is headed
Rico should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium 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.
Rico beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Rico in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The ruler element is transparent and among the most productive in European naming.
- Enrico and Ricardo are available as full formal versions.
- Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
- The Spanish word rico means 'rich' and is a near-homograph.
- It is a diminutive and stays informal in Italian and Spanish.
- Puerto Rico carries the word for many people.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Rico to the vote.
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What they receive
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Rico
Masculine · #1793 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Ricos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 9,300 people named Rico are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Rico in 2025?
- Rico ranks #1793 among US boy names in 2025, with 89 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Rico?
- About 1 in every 19,192 US boys born in 2025 was named Rico — 89 in all.
- Will my child share the name Rico with classmates?
- Rico will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Rico
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Iman#1793 · Auden#1793 · Kodi#1793 · Klayton#1793 · Asael#1793 · Donnie#1793 · Valentine#1793 · Romari#1793
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Rico? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Rico and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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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
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