MEANING & HISTORY
What does Ricardo mean?
Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese counterpart of Richard. The older Germanic compound joins an element for rule or power with one for boldness or hardness.
Powerful ruler is a common interpretive gloss, while power and bold are closer to the two constituent ideas. The name’s formation does not imply an official position or a predicted temperament.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Tagalog
- /ɾiˈkaɾdo/Standard-Tagalog
- [ɾɪˈx̠aɾ.d̪o]Standard-Tagalog
Ri · car · do3 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗English
- /ɹɪˈkɑɹdoʊ/General-American
- /ɹɪˈkɑːdəʊ/Received-Pronunciation
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
TagalogEtymology & source
Borrowed from Spanish, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz.
a male given name from Spanish
Wiktionary: Ricardo (Tagalog) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Portuguese and Spanish Ricardo. Doublet of Richard.
A male given name from Portuguese or Spanish, equivalent to English Richard.
Wiktionary: Ricardo (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Borrowed from Old High German Rīcohard, from Proto-West Germanic *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz.
a male given name, equivalent to English Richard
Wiktionary: Ricardo (Spanish) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Ricardo
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Ricardo Lingan Baccay
Filipino Roman-Catholic archbishop
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Ricardo Vidal
Catholic cardinal (1931-2017)
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
67
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
23
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Ricardo Vidal, Ricardo Lingan Baccay
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Ricardo in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Ricardo
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Ricaredo·Cervantes’s literary form associated with Recaredo
- Cardo♂Short form of Ricardo; brave ruler-name family
- Ricar♂Familiar form of Ricarte, Ricardo or Richard
- Ricarte♂Spanish form linked with Basque Errekarte
- Richard♂Brave ruler
- Edgardo♂Form of Edgar; wealth and spear
- Eduardo♂Guardian of wealth
- Gerardo♂Spear and boldness
What rhymes with Ricardo?
Matches share a dictionary-supplied rhyme key in the stated language. Check the recorded reading; another language or accent can change the rhyme.
Explore Ricardo further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q15720871 — Ricardo (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Ricardo Vidal (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q15720871 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Ricardo Lingan Baccay (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q15720871 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ricardo (Tagalog) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ricardo (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Ricardo (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Ricardo (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.
- Wiktionary: Richard (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted related source-name etymology underlying the stated compound or shortening.
- Wiktionary: Richard (English) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted related source-name etymology underlying the stated compound or shortening.
- Wiktionary: Richard (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Consulted related source-name etymology underlying the stated compound or shortening.