boy's name
Rickey
RIK-ee
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 62,406
Ireland
#389
1995 births
Rickey means strong ruler, and its peak is the largest in this group — 3,818 American births in 1958, against 45 in the most recent year we have. Our records carry the name from 1924 onward.
- Rickey is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1958, when 3,818 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 73,676 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1924.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Rickey over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 29 |
| 1930s | 133 |
| 1940s | 4,257 |
| 1950s | 28,179 |
| 1960s | 14,097 |
| 1970s | 5,301 |
| 1980s | 4,970 |
| 1990s | 2,672 |
| 2000s | 1,514 |
| 2010s | 922 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 317 |
What Rickey means
Rickey means strong ruler, or brave power. The Germanic joins a word for rule to one meaning hardy, so both elements describe authority held firmly.
Where Rickey comes from
Rickey respells Ricky, a pet form of Richard, from the Germanic Ricohard — ric, rule or power, joined to hard, hardy or brave. The ric is the same element in Frederick, Roderick and Eric, and it is cognate with the Latin rex. Richard came to England with the Normans and three kings carried it, which is what fixed it in English use. The -ey ending is a twentieth-century American respelling.
Rickey in use
Rickey peaked in the United States in 1958, when 3,818 babies were registered — the largest peak in this group — and is falling in our data. It charts in exactly one of the six markets we track, at 2829th in the United States on 45 births, across 62,406 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1924.
How popular is Rickey?
In 2025, Rickey was given to 45 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Rickey 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 Rickey
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Rickey also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Rickey over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Rickey 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 Rickey
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Rickey — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Rickey
What does the name Rickey mean?
Strong ruler — the Germanic ric, rule, joined to hard, hardy.
Is ric related to rex?
They are cognate — the same Indo-European root for rule.
Is it Rickey or Ricky?
Ricky is the standard form; Rickey is a twentieth-century American respelling.
How popular is Rickey?
2829th in the United States, down from 3,818 births in 1958.
Is Rickey a girl's or a boy's name?
Rickey is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Rickey?
Rickey has 2 syllables.
Is Rickey a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Rickey currently ranks #2,829 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.