# Richard (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/richard/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “king”, “ruler”, “hard”, “brave”, “richard” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ.ɚd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Dickie, Richie, Dick, Dickey, Rich, Rick, Ricky, Dicky, Hick, Rickey, Rickie, Ricki |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 2,587,082 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 2,577,552 / 9,530 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 8,657, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus, Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). Cognate with Old High German Rīcohard (“Richard”). Partially related to rich. A hypothetical Old English equivalent *Rīċheard would also yield an identical "Richard" in Modern English, though it is unknown if the Old English equivalent existed.

## What it means

Richard is grouped under brave and king.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 14 | 7,013 |
| 1999 | 12 | 8,115 |
| 2000 | 11 | 9,026 |
| 2001 | 11 | 9,230 |
| 2002 | 11 | 9,358 |
| 2003 | 10 | 10,270 |
| 2004 | 23 | 5,513 |
| 2005 | 5 | 18,573 |
| 2006 | 8 | 13,351 |
| 2007 | 8 | 13,657 |
| 2008 | 5 | 19,839 |
| 2009 | 7 | 14,897 |
| 2010 | 5 | 19,241 |
| 2012 | 5 | 18,976 |
| 2022 | 6 | 14,939 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 3,165 | 127 |
| 2012 | 3,029 | 123 |
| 2013 | 2,800 | 140 |
| 2014 | 2,888 | 141 |
| 2015 | 2,688 | 155 |
| 2016 | 2,525 | 160 |
| 2017 | 2,286 | 175 |
| 2018 | 2,138 | 187 |
| 2019 | 1,990 | 197 |
| 2020 | 1,828 | 208 |
| 2021 | 1,783 | 216 |
| 2022 | 1,688 | 219 |
| 2023 | 1,645 | 222 |
| 2024 | 1,544 | 233 |
| 2025 | 1,505 | 234 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 201 | 237 |
| 2012 | 197 | 249 |
| 2013 | 185 | 261 |
| 2014 | 181 | 267 |
| 2015 | 200 | 256 |
| 2016 | 184 | 278 |
| 2017 | 163 | 307 |
| 2018 | 172 | 289 |
| 2019 | 144 | 324 |
| 2020 | 128 | 351 |
| 2021 | 125 | 362 |
| 2022 | 121 | 349 |
| 2023 | 96 | 411 |
| 2024 | 102 | 398 |
| 2025 | 92 | 431 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: رِيتْشَارْد
- Armenian: Ռիչարդ
- Bulgarian: Ри́чард, Ри́хард
- Catalan: Ricard
- Chinese: 理查德, 里夏爾, 里夏德
- Czech: Richard
- Danish: Richard, Rikard
- Dutch: Richard, Rijkert, Rikkert
- Esperanto: Rikardo
- Estonian: Richard, Riho
- Finnish: Rikhard, Riku
- French: Richard
- Georgian: რიჩარდ, რიხარდ
- German: Richard, Rikard
- Greek: Ρίτσαρντ, Ριχάρδος
- Hebrew: ריצ׳רד
- Hindi: रिचर्ड
- Hungarian: Richárd
- Icelandic: Ríkharður
- Irish: Risteard

## People named Richard

- Richard Wagner, German composer (1813–1883)
- Richard Feynman, American theoretical physicist (1918–1988)
- Richard Dawkins, English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941)
- Richard Strauss, German composer and orchestra director (1864–1949)
- Richard Gere, American actor (born 1949)
- Richard Simmons, American fitness instructor and video producer (1948–2024)
- Richard Branson, British business magnate
- Richard Attenborough, British actor (1923–2014)
- Richard Griffiths, British actor
- Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (1831–1916)
- Richard Bach, American spiritual writer (born 1936)
- Richard Francis Burton, British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar (1821–1890)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.