Boys' name · peaked in 1958
Ricky name popularity since 1925
225,089 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Ricky (0.9% girls, 99.1% boys). Half of them were born in 1962 or earlier, so the typical Ricky is about 64 years old in 2026. Ricky peaked in 1958 as the #34 name for boys, and it ranked #949 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 225,089
- Named Ricky, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #949
- for boys in 2025 (248 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.1% boys
- 1,944 girls · 223,145 boys
- Most popular in
- Arkansas
- 2.40× its national share
Peak year is the year Ricky 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.
Ricky births per year, 1925–2025
1958 was the biggest year for Ricky both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1942 and 1947, Ricky became 8.9× more common, from 1 in 12,600 baby boys to 1 in 1,410.
- Steepest fall: Between 1968 and 1973, its share of baby boys fell by 46%, from 1 in 431 to 1 in 804.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Ricky's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Ricky.
Decade by decade
Babies named Ricky in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 10 | 41 | – |
| 1930s | 23 | 185 | #1,640 |
| 1940s | 182 | 6,796 | #252 |
| 1950s | 474 | 79,170 | #46 |
| 1960s | 456 | 66,402 | #57 |
| 1970s | 238 | 22,071 | #135 |
| 1980s | 240 | 20,157 | #145 |
| 1990s | 128 | 13,418 | #237 |
| 2000s | 78 | 8,173 | #376 |
| 2010s | 60 | 4,931 | #582 |
| 2020–25 | 55 | 1,801 | #949 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
57.8% of babies named Ricky from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Ricky is most popular
The index compares Ricky'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 Ricky.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Arkansas | 2.40× | 5,529 |
| Kentucky | 2.30× | 8,626 |
| Tennessee | 2.26× | 10,666 |
| North Carolina | 2.06× | 13,087 |
| Oklahoma | 1.87× | 5,447 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Ricky and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Ricky (this page) | 223,145 | 1958 |
| Rickey | 61,712 | 1958 |
| Rickie | 16,383 | 1954 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Ricky's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Ricky.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Ricky (1958).
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