Boys' name · since 1880

Richard

2,577,552 babies named Richard in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1946. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#8 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#234 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
2,577,552
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade

Richard currently ranks #234 among boys' names in America, with 2,577,552 babies recorded since 1880.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Richard has been recorded 2,577,552 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #234 nationally and more common than 98% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.

  • #8 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #234 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 2,577,552 born since 1880
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Richard ranks #8 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #234 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 2,577,552 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.

#8 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#234 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
2,577,552
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%98.3%
Richard vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Richard's 2,577,552 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

51 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.

How Richard compares

2,577,552 Top 1% higher than 99% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Richard's all-time total is 6,985x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Richard Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 2,577,552 369 358,536
Peak-year births 58,870 34 22,252

Richard's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Richard's full recorded timeline at 1953, 50% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 50% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1891, with just 609 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1946 peak of 58,870 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Richard popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1946)
58,870
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
020,00040,00060,00080,000 188018991918193719561975199420132025 1,505

Richard popularity over time - girls

9,530 total births recorded since 1886 (Richard as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 9,530 births
050100150200250 188619081924194019561972198820042022 6

Richard by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (535,461 births, 21% of the file).

1950s was Richard's strongest decade.

535,461 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.

Richard births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 535,461 births (21% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Richard compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Richard's total volume

Richard vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 1%2%3%4%5% 145.9145.9146146.1 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -146, 1.2%-146, 1.7%-146, 2.1%-146, 2.9%-146, 1.9%-146, 3%-146, 1.7%-146, 1.8%-146, 2.3%-146, 2.1%-146, 1.9%-146, 4.3%-146, 2.7%-146, 1.6%-146, 3%Richard-146, 2.3%Richard
Richard vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Richard by state

Where Richard concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Richard
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
264,703 10.3%
#2 California
225,668 8.8%
#3 Pennsylvania
186,045 7.2%
#4 Ohio
156,777 6.1%
#5 Illinois
150,614 5.8%
#6 Michigan
119,356 4.6%
#7 Texas
111,892 4.3%
#8 Massachusetts
109,550 4.3%
New York share of Richard's total US births 10.3%
Even split

264,703 of 2,577,552 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Richard appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Richard? ▼
2,577,552 babies have been named Richard since 1880. All-time, it sits at #8 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #234 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1946 with 58,870 births.
Where does Richard sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Richard ranks #8 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #234 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Richard most popular? ▼
Richard was most popular in the 1950s decade with 535,461 total births. The single peak year was 1946.
Where is Richard most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Richard are New York (264,703 births), California (225,668 births), Pennsylvania (186,045 births).
How long has the name Richard been used? ▼
Records for Richard go back to 1880, giving 146 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Richard? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Ricky, Ricardo, Rick, Rickey, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Richard's data

  • Richard's decade-level peak was the 1950s (535,461 total births); usage has since declined to 9,993 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • New York records the most Richards (264,703 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Richard

Nearby Names Like Richard

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Richard

Ricky Boy
#948 223,145 births
Ricardo Boy
#380 146,456 births
Rick Boy
#3049 81,829 births
Rickey Boy
#2807 61,717 births
Rickie Boy
#6504 16,383 births

Compare Richard side by side: Richard vs Ricky Richard vs Ricardo Richard vs Rick

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Richard

Justin #233
790,469 births · Peak 1988
Patrick #235
686,590 births · Peak 1964
Alex #232
286,169 births · Peak 1993
Brody #236
81,678 births · Peak 2008
Abel #231
66,037 births · Peak 2015
Kaiden #237
52,562 births · Peak 2014
Simon #230
70,283 births · Peak 2015
Dallas #238
71,203 births · Peak 2025

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Richard: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Richard draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.