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 [ 2 syll. ric-har(d), ri-cha-rd ] The boy name Richard is pronounced as RIHCHerD KEY. Richard is used chiefly in the Czech, English, French, and German languages, and its origin is Germanic. The name is of the meaning powerful ruler. Two-element name from the elements 'ric' meaning rich, powerful, ruler ; 'hart' meaning brave, hardy. Richart (Germanic) and Richeard (Old English) are old forms of Richard. The name was introduced to England by the Normans, and it has been among the most enduringly popular ones. The commonality of the name is reflected in the use of its diminutive Dick in the phrase 'Tom, Dick and Harry' as a reference to anyone. It was borne by three kings of England, most notably Richard I (1157-1199), also known as Lionheart for his reputation as a great military leader; he was later brought to popular attention in the Sir Walter Scott novel Ivanhoe (1819). Various historical forms of the name are obsolete today, including the medieval Richer and other variants such as Dickon, Hick, Hickon and Ricket; the variants were usually derived from the rhyming sound of the '-ic-' in the name. Similarly, several last names have descended from the first name, including Dickson, Dixon, Hitchcock, Rich and Richards. The name Riccarda (Italian), the name Richardine (English), the name Richelle (English), and the name Richenda (English) are the female forms of Richard. The name Richard is used to a great extent; it has 65 variants that are used in both English and other languages. Variants of Richard used in English include Arri (used in Greek and Estonian too), Ricard, Richardo, Richardson, Rickert (used in German too), Ritch, Ritchie, and Ritchy. Other English forms include the short forms Dick, Ric, Rich, Rick, Rik, and Rikki, the pet forms Dickie, Dickson, Dicky, Richie, Richy, Rickey, Ricki, Rickie, Ricky (used in Spanish too), Rikar, and Riker, and the variant spellings Richerd and Ritchard. Foreign variants of Richard include Dic (Romanian), Juku (Estonian), Reku (Finnish), Rhisiart (Welsh), Ricardo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Riccardo (Italian), Ricciardo (Italian), Ricco (Italian), Richards (Latvian), Richart (German), Rickard (Scandinavian), Rico (Spanish and Italian), Riczi (Hungarian), Rihardos (Greek), Rihards (Latvian), Rikard (Finnish, Hungarian, and Scandinavian), Rikert (German), Rikhard (Finnish), Riki (Estonian), Riks (Estonian), Riocard (Irish), Riqui (Spanish), Risa (Czech), Risardas (Lithuanian), Ristéard (Irish), Rolli (Estonian), Rostik (Russian), Rostislav (Russian and Czech), Rostya (Russian), Ruiseart (Scottish), Rye (Polish), Rysio (Polish), Ryszard (Polish), Slava (Russian), Slavik (Russian), and Slavka (Russian). Specific foreign variants include the short forms Richi (German and Spanish) and Riku (Finnish). Richard is a classic favorite. At present it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though not to the extent it was before. At the peak of its usage in 1946, 3.566% of baby boys were given the name Richard. Its ranking then was #5. The baby name has since suffered a substantial fall in popularity, and is today of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.187% and its ranking #107, but it was nonetheless the most popular out of all boy names in its group. In 2008, Richard was more regularly used than the next most popular name, Ricardo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), by 47% . The name Richard has predominantly been a boy name, though it has also been given to girls in the past century. In 1976, boys named Richard outnumbered girls by 127 times. Baby names that sound like Richard include Richerd (English), Ritchard (English), Rezart (Albanian), Ricard (English), Richart (German), Rickard (Scandinavian), Rickert (English and German), Rikard (Finnish, Hungarian, and Scandinavian), Rikert (German), Rikhard (Finnish), Ruiseart (Scottish), Rhisiart (Welsh), Ricardo (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Riccardo (Italian), Ricciardo (Italian), Richardo (English), Riocard (Irish), and Ryszard (Polish). Details of famous persons named Richard: KEY: Pronunciation for Richard: R as in "read (R.IY.D)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; CH as in "cheese (CH.IY.Z)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)"   |
