boy's name
Ricardo
ri-KAR-doh
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 153,201
the United States
#380
2025 births
Ricardo is a boy's name meaning brave ruler, the Spanish and Portuguese form of Richard. Both halves are Germanic words for power, so the compound reinforces a single idea rather than joining two different ones.
- Ricardo is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1998, when 3,055 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,980 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1888.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Ricardo over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 6 |
| 1890s | 7 |
| 1900s | 61 |
| 1910s | 330 |
| 1920s | 1,168 |
| 1930s | 1,789 |
| 1940s | 3,060 |
| 1950s | 10,377 |
| 1960s | 13,253 |
| 1970s | 17,826 |
| 1980s | 23,277 |
| 1990s | 29,446 |
| 2000s | 27,232 |
| 2010s | 13,928 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 5,409 |
What Ricardo means
Ricardo means brave ruler, or powerful and hardy. The Germanic joins a word for rule to one meaning hard or brave, so both elements point at strength.
Where Ricardo comes from
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese Richard, from the Germanic Ricohard — ric, rule or power, joined to hard, hardy or brave. The ric is the same element in Erik, Frederick, Roderick and the German Reich, and it descends from the Indo-European root behind rex and raja. The Normans carried Richard to England, where three kings took it, and the medieval habit of rhyming nicknames turned Rick into Dick — the same process that made Bill from Will and Bob from Rob.
Ricardo in use
Ricardo peaked in the United States in 1998, when 3,055 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 380th in the United States on 833 births, 1394th in England and Wales on 20 and 1685th in France on 20, across 153,201 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1888.
How popular is Ricardo?
In 2025, Ricardo was given to 833 babies in the United States, ranking #380 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Ricardo is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Ricardo
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Ricardo also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Ricardo over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Ricardo
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Ricardo in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Ricardo
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Ricardo — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Ricardo
What does the name Ricardo mean?
Brave ruler — the Germanic ric, rule, joined to hard, brave.
Is Ricardo the same as Richard?
Yes, the Spanish and Portuguese form of the same Germanic name.
Why is Dick short for Richard?
Medieval rhyming nicknames — Rick to Dick, the same process that made Bill from Will.
How popular is Ricardo?
380th in the United States, down from a 1998 peak of 3,044 births.
Is Ricardo a girl's or a boy's name?
Ricardo is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Ricardo?
Ricardo has 3 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Ricardo?
Ricardo is usually shortened to Rico and Ricky.
Is Ricardo a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Ricardo currently ranks #380 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.