boys' name ★ peaked 1946

Richard

Meaning king, ruler Gender Boy Rank 2025 #234 Trend ↓ Falling 18%

From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus, Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a…

Rank 2025
#234
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,505
named Richard · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,135
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1946
58,990 babies
All-time total
2,587,082
#8 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Richard popularity over time

2,587,082 babies have been named Richard since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1020304018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 28 7,010 7,038 704 – #21
1890s 44 7,572 7,616 762 +8% #25
1900s 59 10,675 10,734 1,073 +41% #21
1910s 349 74,603 74,952 7,495 +598% #12
1920s 1,160 222,599 223,759 22,376 +199% #6
1930s 1,280 330,502 331,782 33,178 +48% #5
1940s 1,176 477,476 478,652 47,865 +44% #5
1950s 1,149 535,461 536,610 53,661 +12% #7
1960s 1,465 373,907 375,372 37,537 -30% #8
1970s 1,277 202,804 204,081 20,408 -46% #10
1980s 1,130 154,745 155,875 15,588 -24% #26
1990s 298 94,876 95,174 9,517 -39% #34
2000s 99 48,582 48,681 4,868 -49% #65
2010s 10 26,747 26,757 2,676 -45% #123
2020s (to 2025) 6 9,993 9,999 1,667 -38% #208

Where Richard is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 1,454 0.85 #242
2027 1,411 0.83 #246
2028 1,376 0.81 #254
2029 1,347 0.79 #257
2030 1,323 0.77 #262

Where Richard is most popular

Boys named Richard per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.945 per 1,000. Strongest in Alaska, Delaware, and District of Columbia.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Richard born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Alaska 36 3.02 +220%
Delaware 37 2.44 +158%
District of Columbia 34 2.30 +144%
New Mexico 64 1.94 +105%
New Hampshire 42 1.89 +100%
South Dakota 31 1.67 +76%
Rhode Island 27 1.66 +75%
Mississippi 90 1.58 +68%
Connecticut 107 1.58 +67%
Maryland 177 1.48 +57%
South Carolina 153 1.48 +57%
West Virginia 48 1.47 +56%
Vermont 9 1.43 +52%
Massachusetts 197 1.43 +52%
Maine 27 1.39 +47%
Arizona 225 1.38 +45%
Virginia 244 1.29 +36%
Alabama 139 1.27 +35%
Montana 22 1.25 +32%
New Jersey 249 1.24 +31%
Pennsylvania 320 1.21 +27%
Florida 566 1.20 +26%
Idaho 48 1.17 +24%
Hawaii 18 1.16 +23%
Louisiana 112 1.09 +16%
Georgia 277 1.09 +16%
California 998 1.09 +15%
Arkansas 69 1.09 +15%
Missouri 151 1.09 +15%
New York 467 1.08 +14%
Ohio 279 1.05 +11%
Kansas 72 1.05 +11%
Oklahoma 92 1.04 +10%
North Carolina 263 1.03 +9%
Kentucky 102 1.02 +8%
Michigan 199 0.972 ≈ national
Colorado 125 0.968 ≈ national
Nebraska 42 0.966 ≈ national
Washington 156 0.954 ≈ national
Texas 840 0.953 ≈ national
Iowa 65 0.943 ≈ national
Nevada 53 0.930 ≈ national
Utah 87 0.911 ≈ national
Indiana 145 0.904 ≈ national
Wisconsin 106 0.895 -5%
Illinois 211 0.826 -13%
Oregon 62 0.817 -14%
Minnesota 94 0.766 -19%
Tennessee 138 0.765 -19%
North Dakota 8 0.469 -50%
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Richard

Richard is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #234 in 2025 with 1,505 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 2,587,082 American babies have been named Richard. Its peak came in 1946, when 58,990 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Richard stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Richard?

The median living Richard is about 63 years old; half are between 49 and 73. An estimated 1.5 million people named Richard are alive in the United States today.

median 63 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Richard year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 1,505 #234
2024 – – 1,544 #233
2023 – – 1,645 #222
2022 6 #14,939 1,688 #219
2021 – – 1,783 #216
2020 – – 1,828 #208
2019 – – 1,990 #197
2018 – – 2,138 #187
2017 – – 2,286 #175
2016 – – 2,525 #160
2015 – – 2,688 #155
2014 – – 2,888 #141
2013 – – 2,800 #140
2012 5 #18,976 3,029 #123
2011 – – 3,165 #127
2010 5 #19,241 3,238 #125
2009 7 #14,897 3,612 #114
2008 5 #19,839 4,060 #108
2007 8 #13,657 4,425 #101
2006 8 #13,351 4,469 #99
2005 5 #18,573 4,667 #94
2004 23 #5,513 4,848 #92
2003 10 #10,270 5,054 #86
2002 11 #9,358 5,322 #77
2001 11 #9,230 5,771 #73
2000 11 #9,026 6,354 #65
1995 22 #4,646 8,784 #42
1990 54 #2,337 13,580 #35
1985 116 #1,206 15,330 #28
1980 121 #1,129 16,656 #26
1975 130 #962 17,687 #16
1970 160 #846 30,442 #10
1965 134 #867 36,817 #8
1960 124 #964 43,553 #8
1955 124 #875 53,566 #7
1950 96 #912 51,003 #7
1945 106 #726 46,046 #5
1940 108 #667 37,425 #5
1935 128 #568 33,946 #5
1930 164 #534 32,187 #5
1925 107 #714 23,269 #8
1920 54 #1,014 15,010 #10
1915 39 #1,090 9,143 #15
1910 9 #1,746 1,654 #21
1905 – – 1,033 #22
1900 – – 1,141 #24
1895 7 #1,407 727 #31
1890 – – 743 #25
1885 – – 672 #26
1880 – – 728 #23

Famous people named Richard

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Richard Nixon Richard Nixon President of the United States from 1969 to 1974 1913–1994 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Richard Gere Richard Gere American actor (born 1949) Contemporary
  3. 3 Richard Burton Richard Burton Welsh actor (1925–1984) Contemporary
  4. 4 Richard Attenborough Richard Attenborough English actor and film director (1923–2014) Contemporary
  5. 5 Richard Harris Richard Harris Irish actor and singer (1930–2002) Contemporary
  6. 6 Richard III of England Richard III of England King of England from 1483 to 1485 1452–1485 · Medieval
  7. 7 Richard Feynman Richard Feynman American theoretical physicist (1918–1988) Contemporary
  8. 8 Richard I of England Richard I of England King of England from 1189 to 1199 1157–1199 · Medieval
  9. 9 Richard II of England Richard II of England King of England from 1377 to 1399 1367–1400 · Medieval
  10. 10 Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins British evolutionary biologist and author (born 1941) Contemporary
  11. 11 Richard Wagner Richard Wagner German composer (1813–1883) 19th century
  12. 12 Richard Kiel Richard Kiel American actor (1939–2014) Contemporary
  13. 13 Richard Chamberlain Richard Chamberlain American actor and singer (1934–2025) Contemporary
  14. 14 Richard Wright Richard Wright English keyboardist and musician (1943–2008) Contemporary
  15. 15 Richard Widmark Richard Widmark American actor and producer (1914–2008) Contemporary
  16. 16 Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York Claimant to the English throne (1411–1460) Medieval
  17. 17 Richard Stallman Richard Stallman American activist and programmer (born 1953) Contemporary
  18. 18 Richard Strauss Richard Strauss German composer and conductor (1864–1949) 19th century
  19. 19 Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell English statesman (1626–1712) 17th century
  20. 20 Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi Politician and philosopher (1894–1972) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Richard, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Richard?

The median living Richard is about 63 years old. Half of all living Richards are between 49 and 73 years old.

How many people named Richard are alive today?

An estimated 1.5 million people named Richard are alive in the United States, based on 2,587,082 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Richard mean?

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”).

How popular is the name Richard in 2025?

Richard ranked #234 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,505 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Richard?

2,587,082 babies have been named Richard in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Richard most popular?

Richard peaked in 1946, when 58,990 newborns received the name.

Is Richard a boy or girl name?

Richard is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Richard rising or falling?

Richard is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Richard become more popular?

Richard is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,323 boys named Richard in 2030, which would rank around #262. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Richard?

Well-known people named Richard include Richard Nixon (politician), Richard Gere (actor), Richard Burton (actor).

Names like Richard

Names that sound and feel close to Richard: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Richard with similar names → More names starting with R →