Richard

“Powerful and brave ruler” — Germanic via Old French origin

Boy's name · #234 in the US (2025) · Heirloom

Richard was #5 back in 1930, held the national top 10 for 51 straight years, and stands at #234 today. About 2.6 million boys have carried it since 1880. Richard's short forms are Rick, Rich, Ricky, Richie, and Rickey. Earlier generations knew Dick — the standard of the 1930s.

Around the world: #19 in Slovakia (2025) · #39 in Czechia (2025) · #68 in Hungary (2025).

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 48 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Famous Richards

Richard Wagner — German composer (1813–1883)
Richard Nixon — president of the United States from 1969 to 1974 (1913–1994)
Richard Feynman — American theoretical physicist (1918–1988)
Richard Stallman — American software freedom activist, short story writer and computer programmer, founder of the GNU project
Richard Dawkins — English ethologist, evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941)

In stories & tradition

Richard (Dick Grayson) — Harley · Detective Comics
Richard Alpert — Lost
Richard (Riddick) — The Chronicles of Riddick · Pitch Black

What Richards become

Among 23,926 notable people named Richard:

Military figures appear 1.71× more often than among typical names — e.g. Richard Francis Burton, British explorer, army officer, writer and scholar (1821–1890).

Similar names: Ricky · Mark · Ryker · Eric · Edward · Ronald

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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