Given name & surname · also English
Richard
“a powerful ruler”
Richard combines Germanic elements associated with power and strength with a long royal history.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “a powerful ruler.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Germanic.
How it developed
Possibly from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus, from Middle High German Rihard, from Old High German Rihhart, from Proto-West Germanic *Rīkuhardu, built from Proto-Germanic *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
The Normans brought Richard to England, where it was borne by three kings. Richard I’s nickname Lionheart and his later appearance in Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe helped give the name a lasting place in popular historical storytelling.
Richard through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,587,082
- 2,577,552 boys · 9,530 girls
- Most popular year
- 1946
- 58,990 babies
- 2025
- 1,505
- #234 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,505 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 234 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 24.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 58,870 in 1946. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (173). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,575,998 as a first name in 2020; 51,000 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Richard’s family of names
In English usage, Richard has a diminutive in Ricky. Richard shares a linguistic root with Ricardo. In English usage, Richard has a conventional equivalent in the Polish form Ryszard.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Richard has relatives in 68 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Germanic roots to each of them.
105 related names in 68 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 51
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ricardovariant · German, Portuguese
- Rickydiminutive · Tagalog, ceb
- Richiepet form · French, English
- Rickeydiminutive · English
- Rickdiminutive · English
- Ritchiediminutive · English
- Rickidiminutive · English
- Richdiminutive · English
Show 43 moreShow fewer
- Rickiediminutive · English
- Riccardovariant · Italian
- Richydiminutive · English
- Ricshort form
- Rikshort form
- Richarddlikely variant
- Dickdiminutive · English
- Rihoshort form · Estonian
- Rickardvariant · English, Swedish
- Dickydiminutive · English
- Dickeydiminutive · English
- Dickiediminutive · English
- Richmanvariant
- Ryszardvariant · Polish
- Ritchardvariant
- Richerdvariant
- Richardovariant
- Ricardvariant · Occitan, Catalan
- Ricchardlikely variant
- Rrichardlikely variant
- Richhardlikely variant
- Richarrdlikely variant
- Dickboydiminutive · English
- Dickensdiminutive · English
- Ricardiminutive · ceb
- Pichaydiminutive · ceb
- Ríšadiminutive · Czech
- Rišodiminutive · Slovak
- Rickettdiminutive · English
- Rickardsvariant · English
- Ickediminutive · English
- Hitchdiminutive · English
- Dickondiminutive · English
- Rihardvariant · Estonian, Slovene
- Rikardvariant · Swedish, Norwegian
- Hickpet form · English
- Ritsherdvariant
- Ritshardvariant
- Ritchyrdvariant
- Ritcherdvariant
- Riocardvariant
- Rickertvariant
- Richartvariant
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 79
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Rykerrelated form
- RikuFinnish
- Richardson“son of” surname · English
- Hickspatronymic from · English
- Ricardafeminine form
- Richeyequivalent
- RikardoEsperanto
- Ricardusequivalent
Show 52 moreShow fewer
- Ричардborrowing · Russian, Bulgarian
- Rikardascognate · Lithuanian
- რიხარდborrowing · Georgian
- რიჩარდborrowing · Georgian
- Ritchådcognate · Walloon
- ΡιχάρδοςGreek
- Rickettspatronymic from · English
- Richespatronymic from · English
- Likekeborrowing · Hawaiian
- Ričardasborrowing · Lithuanian
- Prichardcognate · English
- Richardasequivalent
- Richardtequivalent
- Rickhardequivalent
- РихардRussian
- РишарRussian
- RiciardRomanian
- ریچاردPersian
- RihardsLatvian
- リチャードJapanese
- リッヒャルトJapanese
- リシャールJapanese
- RíkharðurIcelandic
- RichárdHungarian
- ריצ'רדHebrew
- Rhisiartcognate · Welsh
- RisteárdIrish
- Ruiseartcognate · Scottish Gaelic
- RikhardFinnish
- 리차드Korean
- 理查德Chinese, Mandarin
- RicartCatalan
- RicharzhBreton
- РычардBelarusian
- ՌիչարդArmenian
- ՀռիքարտոսArmenian
- ريتشاردArabic, arz
- RichớtVietnamese
- رچرڈUrdu
- Рі́чардUkrainian
- РикардSerbo-Croatian
- Ри́хардRussian, Bulgarian
- Риша́рRussian
- Ри́чардRussian, Macedonian
- RiciarduRomanian
- RīċheardOld English
- R'chardnrf
- रिचर्डMarathi, Hindi
- RihariMāori
- RičardsLatvian
- RichardusLatin
- RisteardIrish
And 19 more.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Richard
- Richard WagnerGerman composer (1813–1883)
- Richard Nixonpresident of the United States from 1969 to 1974 (1913–1994)
- Richard FeynmanAmerican theoretical physicist (1918–1988)
- Richard StallmanAmerican software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU projectborn 1953
- Richard DawkinsEnglish ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941)
- Ringo StarrBritish musician, drummer for the Beatles (born 1940)
- Dick CheneyVice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 (1941–2025)
- Richard I of EnglandKing of England from 1189 to 1199 (1157–1199)
- Peter SellersBritish actor and comedian (1925–1980)
Characters named Richard: Dick Grayson (one of several fictional characters using the identity Robin), Richard Alpert (the American mystery fiction television series Lost), Richard Castle (the television series Castle), Sharpe (fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
- English names from a pre-Christian Germanic past
- Royal and aristocratic names
- Most Popular Names of the 1960s
- Most popular names in the 1940s
- Early Beginnings: settler names
- R Names
- Most Popular Names of the 1950s
- Most Popular Names of the 1940s
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- Senators
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- Names That Are Candidates for Nicknames
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- Nobel Prize-Winners
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If you love Richard, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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