Richard

German

"dominant ruler"

Richard Origin and Meaning

The name Richard is a boy's name of German origin meaning "dominant ruler".

A classic old Norman name popular for a thousand years and favored for kings (Richard Nixon was named for Richard the Lionhearted), as well as the hoi polloi (as in every Tom, Dick and Harry), Richard was the sixth most popular US boys’ name in 1925, and was still Number 8 in 1950, but is now much less popular.

We predict that if parents do readopt the name Richard, it will be in its full and formal version. All the possible nicknames -- Richie (too Happy Days), Ricky, (too I Love Lucy) and especially Dick (too tricky and teasable) -- sound so dated that it's hard to imagine Richard ever coming back into style. But not that long ago, people said that about now-hot baby names Jake and Max.

Richard Rank in US Top 1000

# 232 in the US

Richard Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 328 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Richard

• 232 US 2024
• 328 Nameberry 2025
• 414 England 2023
• 119 Germany 2016

20 Names Similar to Richard

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Richard.

• Martin
• Paul
• Timothy
• Robert
• Stephen
• Gregory
• Ronald
• Carl
• Raymond
• Phillip
• Philip
• John
• Douglas
• Alan
• Johnathan
• Mark
• Dennis
• Jonathan
• Bruce
• Joseph

Famous People Named Richard

• Richard I the Lionheart King of England
• Richard II King of England
• Richard III King of England and subject of a play by Shakespeare
• Richard Wagner German composer
• Richard Milhous Nixon 37th U.S. president
• Richard Burton Welsh actor
• Richard Starkey birth name of Ringo Starr, English drummer for The Beatles
• (Clinton) Richard Dawkins English evolutionist
• Richard Charles Rodgers American composer
• Richard Lynn Carpenter American musician and composer
• Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor American comedian
• Richard Tiffany Gere American actor
• Richard Crispin Armitage English actor
• Richard E. Grant English actor
• Richard Alexander Walter George Prince of the U.K.; Duke of Gloucester; cousin of Elizabeth II
• Richard Casimir Karl August Robert Konstantin 6th Prince of Sayn,Wittgenstein,Berleburg; husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark
• Richard "Dick" Winters WWII paratrooper and CO of Easy Company (of "Band of Brothers" fame)
• Richard Benjamin "Dick" Haymes Argentine actor & singer
• Richard Ralph Haymes son of Dick Haymes & Joanne Dru
• Richard Speight Jr. American actor
• Richard Dean Anderson American actor
• Richard Roxburgh Australian actor
• Richard Madden Scottish actor
• Richard Ellef Ayoade English comedian, actor, writer and director
• Richard Robert Ruccolo American actor
• Richard David Briers English actor
• Richard Sherman NFL player
• Richard (Richie) Hugh McCaw New Zealand rugby footballer
• Richard Feynman American theoretical physicist & Nobel prize winner
• Richard Hadfield member of English band Collabro
• Richard Stephen Dreyfuss American actor
• Richard "Dick" Gordon Jr. American astronaut
• Richard 'Fazer' Rawson British Singer, Producer and member of N,Dubz
• Richard Branson British entrepeneur
• Richard Warren Mayflower passenger
• Richard Morton Sherman American songwriter with his brother Robert B. Sherman
• Richard Leaf British actor
• Richard James "Rick" Cosnett Zimbabwean,Australian actor
• Richard Lui American journalist, MSNBC anchor
• Richard Meeker Jr. late son of American actress Mary Tyler Moore
• Richard Jenkins American actor
• Richard Blais American chef
• Richard Everitt (b. 1978) 15 year old white British boy who was stabbed to death because he was white in 1994

The name Richard in Pop Culture

• Richard "Dick" Grayson also known as Robin, character in DC Universe
• Richard Swift also known as Shade, character in DC Universe
• Richard Hendricks character on TV's "Silicon Valley"
• Richard Alexander Rodgers aka Richard Edgar "Rick" Castle character on TV's "Castle"
• Richard Bucket character on British comedy "Keeping Up Appearances"
• Richard Gilmore character on TV's "Gilmore Girls"
• Richard Roma character in David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross"
• Richard Webber character on TV's "Grey's Anatomy"
• Richard Travers character in the movie "Cliffhanger"
• Richard Cole the English kjurnalist from the Power of Five book series
• Richard Cypher main character on TV's "Legend of the Seeker"
• Richard Parker tiger in Yann Martel's "Life of Pi"
• Richard Wellington character in game 'Ace Attorney'
• Richard Tyler character in animated film "The Pagemaster"
• Richard "Dick" Casablancas character on TV's "Veronica Mars"
• Richard "Dick" Campbell Gansey III character in "The Raven Cycle" by Maggie Stiefvater
• Richard Papen character in "The Secret History"
• Richard Lestrange character in "The Blue Lagoon"
• Richard Phillips character in "Sims" series
• Richard "Rocky" Scarlet character in "Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism" by Georgia Byng
• Richard "Rich" Hardbeck character from British TV show "Skins"
• Richard "Rick" Blaine character from "Casablanca"
• Richard "Rick" Sanchez character from "Rick and Morty"
• Richard "Dick" Roman character from Supernatural
• Richard Watterson Gumball's father in the Amazing World of Gumball
• Richard MacDuff programmer and ex,boyfriend of Dirk Gently in the novel "Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency"

International Variations of the name Richard

• Dic Romanian
• Arri Estonian
• Richart German
• Ryszard Polish
• Rickert Swedish
• Rihardos Greek
• Rysio Polish
• Rostya Russian
• Richards Latvian
• Richi Spanish
• Riocard Irish
• Reku Finnish
• Riczi Hungarian
• Rollo Estonian
• Ricciardo Italian
• Riks Estonian
• Slavik Russian
• Riqui Spanish
• Rico Spanish
• Ricco Italian
• Riki Estonian
• Slava Russian
• Rye Polish
• Rikard Hungarian
• Slavka Russian
• Juki Estonian
• Rhisiart Welsh
• Ristéard Irish Gaelic
• Risa Czech
• Ruiseart Scottish Gaelic
• Rihards Latvian
• Riccardo Italian
• Rickard Swedish
• Ricardo Spanish
• Ricardo Portuguese