NameYear

Boys' name · peaked in 1946

Richard name popularity since 1925

2,397,316 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Richard. Half of them were born in 1954 or earlier, so the typical Richard is about 72 years old in 2026. Richard peaked in 1946 as the #5 name for boys, and it ranked #234 in 2025.

US babies since 1925
2,397,316
Named Richard, 1925–2025
Peak year
1946
#5 for boys that year
Typical age
About 72
Median birth year 1954
In 2025
#234
for boys in 2025 (1,505 babies)
Girls / boys
99.6% boys
8,678 girls · 2,388,638 boys
Most popular in
Massachusetts
1.78× its national share

Peak year is the year Richard made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.

Richard births per year, 1925–2025

Babies named Richard per year, 1925–2025

1946 was the biggest year for Richard both by count and as a share of all babies.

Decade by decade

Babies named Richard in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).

Decade GirlsBoys Rank
1925–29 788133,545 –
1930s 1,280330,502 #5
1940s 1,176477,476 #5
1950s 1,149535,461 #7
1960s 1,465373,907 #8
1970s 1,277202,804 #16
1980s 1,130154,745 #28
1990s 29894,876 #42
2000s 9948,582 #94
2010s 1026,747 #155
2020–25 69,993 #234

Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.

Generation fingerprint

40.1% of babies named Richard from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:

Richard by generation Greatest Generation born 1925–27 3.2% Silent Generation born 1928–45 27.1% Baby Boomers born 1946–64 40.1% Gen X born 1965–80 16.3% Millennials born 1981–96 8.9% Gen Z born 1997–2012 3.3% Gen Alpha born 2013–25 1.1%

Where Richard is most popular

The index compares Richard's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Richard.

StateIndexBabies
Massachusetts1.78×102,204
Maine1.78×18,450
Rhode Island1.77×15,176
Vermont1.73×6,985
New Hampshire1.63×12,434

Names with a similar story

Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Richard's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Richard.

Names from the same era

Other common names that peaked within two years of Richard (1946).

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data