Richard is a distinctive choice, ranked #398 in 2024. Your child is likely to be the only Richard in their class.
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UK Rank 2024
#398
US Rank #232
About the Name Richard
Richard is gradually declining in popularity, having dropped 47 places over five years. Its high point was #62 in 1996, and it now sits at #398. The name has been a consistent presence in UK records since 1996. It has broken into the UK top 100 on 4 occasions, signalling genuine mainstream interest.
Richard is distinctive enough that your child will likely be the only one in both their class and their school β standing out on every register.
In the US it ranks even higher at #232, where it enjoys a particularly strong following.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about the name Richard
Unlikely. With around 102 UK babies named Richard per year, your child will almost certainly be the only Richard in his class, and possibly the only one in the whole school.
Richard has been declining in UK popularity, dropping 47 places in the last five years. Its peak was #62 in 1996. Choosing it now means he is likely to be among the last of his generation with this name.
Richard is more popular in the US (#232) than in the UK (#398). Names with strong rankings in both countries tend to have broad cross-cultural appeal, working well for international families or those with ties to both nations.
Notable people named Richard include: Richard J. Leon β Richard J.; Richard Keys β Richard Keys is an English sports presenter who has worked for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky UK, Talksport, Al Jazeera, Fox Sports, ESPN Star Sports and BeIN...; Richard Branson β Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and, as of 2016, controlled five companies..
Richard appears in the US top 500 at #232 in 2024 β moderately popular in America, though less so than in the UK.
102
UK babies named Richard (2024)
< 1
Expected classmates with this name (class of 28)
~0.1
In a school of 600
↓ 47 places
Rank change (last 5 years)
🏫 Who else is in the room?
In a typical UK class of 28, highlighted children share the name Richard
Likely around 1 other Richard in the class
UK Popularity (1996–2024)
Rank and birth count · ONS official data
US Popularity (2020–2024)
Rank · SSA official data
✨ Similar names to Richard
Names with a similar style — each with their own classroom story
Richard Walter Burton was a Welsh actor. Noted for his mellifluous baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s and gave a memorable performance as Hamlet in 1964.
Richard Keys is an English sports presenter who has worked for BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky UK, Talksport, Al Jazeera, Fox Sports, ESPN Star Sports and BeIN Sports; he has presented many top-level football matches.
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate who co-founded the Virgin Group in 1970, and, as of 2016, controlled five companies. Branson expressed his desire to become an entrepreneur at a young age.
Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard CΕur de Lion (Old Norman French: Quor de Lion) because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period.
Ricardo Leyva MuΓ±oz Ramirez, better known as Richard Ramirez, was an American serial killer, sex offender and burglar whose killing spree occurred in Greater Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area in the state of California. From April 1984 to August 1985, Ramirez murdered at least fifteen people during various break-ins.
Richard is a masculine given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic *rΔ«k- 'ruler, leader, king' and *hardu- 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong in rule'.
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is regarded as one of the greatest and most influential comedians of all time.
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American theoretical physicist. He shared the 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics with Julian Schwinger and Shin'ichirΕ Tomonaga "for their fundamental work in quantum electrodynamics (QED), with deep-ploughing consequences for the physics of elementary particles".