Popularity of the name Richard, 1880–2025
Richard was at its most popular in 1946, when 58,870 boys were given the name: about 1 in 28 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #5. In 2025, 1,505 boys were named Richard, ranking #234. In all, Social Security counts 2,577,552 boys named Richard since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 9,530 girls named Richard.
- Peak year
- 1946
- Rank in 1946
- #5
- Babies in 1946
- 58,870
- Rank in 2025
- #234
- Total since 1880
- 2,577,552
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name slipped from #155 in 2015 to #234 in 2025: 2,688 boys got it in 2015, and 1,505 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1930s, when 330,502 boys were named Richard, #5 for the decade. It ranked #23 in the 1880s and #221 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 728 in 1880 (#23), 1,141 in 1900 (#24), 15,010 in 1920 (#10), 37,425 in 1940 (#5), 43,553 in 1960 (#8), 16,656 in 1980 (#26), 6,354 in 2000 (#65) and 1,828 in 2020 (#208).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 58,870, in 1946. Its best rank in any year was #5, first reached in 1930.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Richard, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 728 | #23 |
| 1881 | 641 | #22 |
| 1882 | 746 | #22 |
| 1883 | 649 | #21 |
| 1884 | 749 | #23 |
| 1885 | 672 | #26 |
| 1886 | 720 | #23 |
| 1887 | 622 | #25 |
| 1888 | 772 | #26 |
| 1889 | 711 | #24 |
| 1890 | 743 | #25 |
| 1891 | 609 | #27 |
| 1892 | 802 | #27 |
| 1893 | 732 | #26 |
| 1894 | 808 | #25 |
| 1895 | 727 | #31 |
| 1896 | 834 | #26 |
| 1897 | 702 | #31 |
| 1898 | 871 | #26 |
| 1899 | 744 | #27 |
| 1900 | 1,141 | #24 |
| 1901 | 784 | #26 |
| 1902 | 908 | #26 |
| 1903 | 862 | #26 |
| 1904 | 957 | #24 |
| 1905 | 1,033 | #22 |
| 1906 | 1,084 | #23 |
| 1907 | 1,235 | #22 |
| 1908 | 1,244 | #23 |
| 1909 | 1,427 | #21 |
| 1910 | 1,654 | #21 |
| 1911 | 2,030 | #20 |
| 1912 | 4,188 | #19 |
| 1913 | 5,107 | #19 |
| 1914 | 6,669 | #17 |
| 1915 | 9,143 | #15 |
| 1916 | 10,134 | #15 |
| 1917 | 10,914 | #14 |
| 1918 | 12,323 | #12 |
| 1919 | 12,441 | #12 |
| 1920 | 15,010 | #10 |
| 1921 | 16,376 | #10 |
| 1922 | 17,537 | #9 |
| 1923 | 18,887 | #9 |
| 1924 | 21,244 | #8 |
| 1925 | 23,269 | #8 |
| 1926 | 25,143 | #7 |
| 1927 | 26,768 | #6 |
| 1928 | 28,793 | #6 |
| 1929 | 29,572 | #6 |
| 1930 | 32,187 | #5 |
| 1931 | 31,822 | #5 |
| 1932 | 31,809 | #5 |
| 1933 | 31,331 | #5 |
| 1934 | 33,167 | #5 |
| 1935 | 33,946 | #5 |
| 1936 | 33,494 | #5 |
| 1937 | 32,975 | #5 |
| 1938 | 34,385 | #5 |
| 1939 | 35,386 | #5 |
| 1940 | 37,425 | #5 |
| 1941 | 39,112 | #5 |
| 1942 | 43,593 | #5 |
| 1943 | 46,339 | #5 |
| 1944 | 45,643 | #5 |
| 1945 | 46,046 | #5 |
| 1946 | 58,870 | #5 |
| 1947 | 58,532 | #5 |
| 1948 | 50,970 | #7 |
| 1949 | 50,946 | #7 |
| 1950 | 51,003 | #7 |
| 1951 | 54,541 | #7 |
| 1952 | 58,350 | #7 |
| 1953 | 58,389 | #7 |
| 1954 | 57,042 | #7 |
| 1955 | 53,566 | #7 |
| 1956 | 52,915 | #7 |
| 1957 | 52,446 | #8 |
| 1958 | 50,007 | #8 |
| 1959 | 47,202 | #8 |
| 1960 | 43,553 | #8 |
| 1961 | 41,142 | #8 |
| 1962 | 39,422 | #8 |
| 1963 | 40,772 | #8 |
| 1964 | 40,098 | #8 |
| 1965 | 36,817 | #8 |
| 1966 | 34,457 | #8 |
| 1967 | 33,585 | #8 |
| 1968 | 32,976 | #8 |
| 1969 | 31,085 | #10 |
| 1970 | 30,442 | #10 |
| 1971 | 26,154 | #11 |
| 1972 | 22,302 | #14 |
| 1973 | 19,942 | #16 |
| 1974 | 18,636 | #17 |
| 1975 | 17,687 | #16 |
| 1976 | 16,752 | #19 |
| 1977 | 17,442 | #20 |
| 1978 | 16,734 | #21 |
| 1979 | 16,713 | #25 |
| 1980 | 16,656 | #26 |
| 1981 | 16,855 | #27 |
| 1982 | 16,717 | #27 |
| 1983 | 15,888 | #27 |
| 1984 | 15,607 | #27 |
| 1985 | 15,330 | #28 |
| 1986 | 15,014 | #29 |
| 1987 | 14,401 | #30 |
| 1988 | 14,144 | #32 |
| 1989 | 14,133 | #33 |
| 1990 | 13,580 | #35 |
| 1991 | 12,553 | #34 |
| 1992 | 11,332 | #41 |
| 1993 | 10,230 | #40 |
| 1994 | 9,516 | #41 |
| 1995 | 8,784 | #42 |
| 1996 | 8,182 | #45 |
| 1997 | 7,243 | #51 |
| 1998 | 6,954 | #55 |
| 1999 | 6,502 | #61 |
| 2000 | 6,354 | #65 |
| 2001 | 5,771 | #73 |
| 2002 | 5,322 | #77 |
| 2003 | 5,054 | #86 |
| 2004 | 4,848 | #92 |
| 2005 | 4,667 | #94 |
| 2006 | 4,469 | #99 |
| 2007 | 4,425 | #101 |
| 2008 | 4,060 | #108 |
| 2009 | 3,612 | #114 |
| 2010 | 3,238 | #125 |
| 2011 | 3,165 | #127 |
| 2012 | 3,029 | #123 |
| 2013 | 2,800 | #140 |
| 2014 | 2,888 | #141 |
| 2015 | 2,688 | #155 |
| 2016 | 2,525 | #160 |
| 2017 | 2,286 | #174 |
| 2018 | 2,138 | #187 |
| 2019 | 1,990 | #197 |
| 2020 | 1,828 | #208 |
| 2021 | 1,783 | #216 |
| 2022 | 1,688 | #219 |
| 2023 | 1,645 | #221 |
| 2024 | 1,544 | #233 |
| 2025 | 1,505 | #234 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.