Richard

Powerful leader

boyGermanic

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Richard meaning & origin

Richard is listed in our catalog as a boy name. Its listed meaning is "Powerful leader". Listed origin: Germanic.

Pronunciation

RICH-ard

Catalog phonetic spelling

Popularity

In 2024, Richard ranked #232 in US Social Security name records for male births. This is the latest verified year in our catalog, not a live ranking.

Nicknames

RichRick

Richard popularity by year

US Social Security birth-name ranks. A smaller rank means more recorded births in the reported sex category.
Birth yearRank
2020#208
2021#216
2022#219
2023#221
2024#232

Source: Social Security Administration. US data is not a worldwide measure of usage. Missing years are not zero births.

Middle Name Ideas

  • Richard John
  • Richard Edward
  • Richard James

Famous Namesakes

  • Richard III of England
  • Richard Nixon

Sources & notes

Meanings, origins, pronunciations, and namesakes are catalog entries that have not yet completed source-by-source editorial review. Nicknames and middle-name pairings are ideas to try, not usage statistics. We show birth-name ranks only when the record includes source-file provenance; missing data is not evidence of rarity.

The pronunciation button uses your device's speech voice, not a native-speaker recording.

Variants & Alternate Spellings of Richard

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Frequently Asked Questions About Richard

What does the name Richard mean?

Richard is listed in our catalog as a boy name. Its listed meaning is "Powerful leader". Listed origin: Germanic.

How do you pronounce Richard?

Our catalog's pronunciation guide is RICH-ard. Pronunciation can vary by language and family.

How popular is the name Richard?

In 2024, Richard ranked #232 in US Social Security name records for male births. This is the latest verified year in our catalog, not a live ranking.

What nickname ideas could work for Richard?

Ideas to try include Rich, Rick. These are suggestions, not a measure of usage.

What middle names could work with Richard?

Try Richard John, Richard Edward, Richard James aloud with your surname. These pairings are subjective suggestions.

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