Richard
Germanic ric “ruler” plus hard “brave, hardy.”
Popularity, 1880–2025
The Lionheart's name, a top-five standard through the middle of the century.
Richard appears in the national records from the very first year, 1880. It has ranked among the top 100 names for American boys in every year from 1880 to 2006. It spent 51 years inside the top 10. Its biggest year was 1946, when 58,870 newborn boys received the name, ranking it No. 5 nationally. In 2025 it ranked No. 234 for boys. All told, 2,587,082 Americans have been given the name since 1880.
Related names
Other spellings on record: Rickard (625) (total births since 1880)
Other names that share a story: Ricky, Hudson, Rick
Explore Richard interactively →By the decade
| Decade | Births | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,010 | No. 21 |
| 1890s | 7,572 | No. 25 |
| 1900s | 10,675 | No. 21 |
| 1910s | 74,603 | No. 12 |
| 1920s | 222,599 | No. 6 |
| 1930s | 330,502 | No. 5 |
| 1940s | 477,476 | No. 5 |
| 1950s | 535,461 | No. 7 |
| 1960s | 373,907 | No. 8 |
| 1970s | 202,804 | No. 10 |
| 1980s | 154,745 | No. 26 |
| 1990s | 94,876 | No. 34 |
| 2000s | 48,582 | No. 65 |
| 2010s | 26,747 | No. 123 |
| 2020s | 9,993 | No. 208 |
Births and rank shown for boys, the sex more often given the name. The Social Security Administration omits name–year combinations with fewer than five births.
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Data: U.S. Social Security Administration national baby-name file, 1880–2025.