MEANING & HISTORY
What does Richard mean?
Richard combines old Germanic elements for a ruler or king and for being firm, strong or brave. The usual name gloss, “brave ruler,” summarizes those two components rather than describing the personality of every Richard.
The spelling reached English through French and Norman forms; Ricardo is a related Romance-language development. Some reconstructions of the earliest Germanic and possible Old English forms differ, but that does not make the meanings of the core elements mysterious. Rick and Richie are familiar short forms, with their own histories of shortening.
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.
English
- /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ.əd/Australia · Received-Pronunciation
- /ˈɹɪt͡ʃ.ɚd/Canada · General-American
Rich · ard2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗Spanish
- /ˈrit͡ʃaɾd/
- [ˈri.t͡ʃaɾð̞]
- /ɹɪt͡ʃɚd/
- [ɹɪt͡ʃɚð̞]
Ri · chard2 source divisions
Dictionary reading & contributors ↗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.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Richard, from Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus and Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”).
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Richard (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Rycharde, from Old French Richard, from Medieval Latin Richardus, Ricohardus, from Frankish *Rīkahard, from Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). Cognate with Old High German Rīcohard (“Richard”). Partially related to rich. A hypothetical Old English equivalent *Rīċheard would also yield an identical "Richard" in Modern English, though it is unknown if the Old English equivalent existed.
A male given name from the Germanic languages.
Wiktionary: Richard (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
SpanishEtymology & source
Unadapted borrowing from English Richard. Doublet of Ricardo.
a male given name from English
Wiktionary: Richard (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 Richard
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
Alden Richards
Filipino actor and television personality
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Richard Poon
Filipino musician
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
19
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
16
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Richard Poon, Alden Richards
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Richard 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 Richard
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
- Ricar♂Familiar form of Ricarte, Ricardo or Richard
- Ricardo♂Powerful and bold
- Millard♂Guardian of the mill, through an English surname
- Reynard·Counsel and brave in a Germanic name
- Rica♀Short form of Frederica or other -rica names
- Ricaredo·Cervantes’s literary form associated with Recaredo
- Ricarte♂Spanish form linked with Basque Errekarte
- Rich♂Short form of Richard
What rhymes with Richard?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Richard
6 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Alexander Richard Ro·Source record
- David Richard·David: Hebrew Dawid, whose older root has beloved and uncle interpretations; Richard: Germanic ruler and firm or brave elements
- James Richard·Jacob-family James; ruler and firm or brave in Richard
- Jessie Richard·Jessie familiar-name histories with ruler and firm or brave
- Paul Richard·Paul: Roman Paulus, small; Richard: Germanic ruler and brave/firm elements
- Richard Pera·Source record
Explore Richard 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.
- Wikidata given-name item Q1249148 — Richard (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Richard Poon (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1249148 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Alden Richards (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1249148 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Richard (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Richard (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary contributors — Richard (Spanish) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Behind the Name — Richard (opens in a new tab)
Onomastic account consulted for this exact name or its explicitly linked name family.