Nameling

Ricardo

Gender
Boy
Say it
ri-KAR-doh
Origin
Germanic
UK rank, 2025
#1,423 for boys
US rank, 2025
#380 for boys

Ricardo is a boys' name of Germanic origin, meaning “powerful and brave”. In 2025 it ranked 1,423rd for boys in the UK (20 babies) and 380th for boys in the US (833 babies).

What does Ricardo mean?

Germanic: Spanish and Portuguese form of Richard

“powerful and brave”

The Spanish and Portuguese form of Richard.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Ricardo a girl's or a boy's name?

Ricardo is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 20 boys in the UK and 833 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.

How popular is Ricardo in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#1,423among boys
Babies in 2025
20about 1 in 15,000 boys
Five-year trend
Fallingdown 33% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 20 boys in the UK were named Ricardo, making it the 1,423rd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 936th. Its busiest year was 1999, with 65 boys.

Half of all the boys named Ricardo in the UK since 1996 were born between 2002 and 2015. It was already well used in 1996, when the records begin, so earlier boys aren't counted.

In 2025, 36 boys in the UK were given Ricardo or a name that sounds the same. With every name's spellings counted this way, that ranks #836, up from #1,423 for this spelling alone.

Among boys in 2025, it was 1,358th in England and Wales.

1996Busiest: 65 in 19992025
Ricardo in the UK, year by year
YearBoysRank
202520#1,423
202417#1,585
202325#1,214
202224#1,229
202133#993
202034#936
201932#994
201826#1,142
201736#936
201633#988
201538#891
201448#737
201346#768
201244#801
201134#929
201050#701
200946#725
200840#795
200749#663
200654#597
200541#707
200457#504
200343#593
200241#566
200145#511
200047#485
199965#386
199858#422
199747#466
199641#487

How popular is Ricardo in the US?

Rank in 2025
#380among boys
Babies in 2025
833about 1 in 2,100 boys
Five-year trend
Steadydown 17% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 boys

In 2025, 833 boys in the US were named Ricardo, making it the 380th most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 339th. Its busiest year was 1998, with 3,044 boys. It first appears in the records in 1888.

It has been given to fewer boys each year for the last 11 years. 2025 had fewer boys named Ricardo than any year since 1951.

Half of all the boys named Ricardo in the US since 1880 were born between 1974 and 2003, the years shaded on the chart below.

1888Busiest: 3,044 in 19982025
Ricardo in the US, year by year
YearBoysRank
2025833#380
2024871#373
2023876#371
2022920#357
2021946#345
2020963#339
20191,018#329
20181,125#305
20171,168#302
20161,297#281
20151,340#277
20141,462#256
20131,430#253
20121,567#226
20111,635#215
20101,886#195
20092,303#170
20082,757#149
20072,779#146
20062,702#152
20052,626#157
20042,781#144
20032,762#148
20022,709#143
20012,853#138
20002,918#134
19992,987#126
19983,044#125
19972,926#130
19962,883#128
19952,871#126
19942,974#119
19932,947#120
19923,024#115
19912,853#117
19902,802#120
19892,735#119
19882,502#121
19872,124#131
19862,222#124
19852,139#131
19842,209#122
19832,179#121
19822,291#121
19812,364#117
19802,324#117
19792,076#130
19781,880#140
19771,724#147
19761,784#141
19751,726#143
19741,812#140
19731,631#151
19721,701#153
19711,670#165
19701,653#172
19691,573#177
19681,350#187
19671,290#188
19661,201#199
19651,279#198
19641,317#210
19631,327#211
19621,256#219
19611,245#222
19601,311#215
19591,346#210
19581,295#208
19571,182#219
19561,101#221
19551,104#216
19541,092#211
19531,051#209
1952863#227
1951670#257
1950614#264
1949492#307
1948448#317
1947379#349
1946349#348
1945282#354
1944253#376
1943211#429
1942205#427
1941218#390
1940207#399
1939179#424
1938186#418
1937196#398
1936158#447
1935162#448
1934189#400
1933168#422
1932159#446
1931176#428
1930216#389
1929204#411
1928167#473
1927152#493
192699#631
1925138#523
1924114#594
192381#725
192285#709
192154#953
192074#766
191961#839
191852#918
191746#946
191640#1,013
191537#1,054
191426#1,127
191317#1,256
191225#892
191117#792
19109#1,117
190914#756
19089#946
190710#865
19060–
19050–
19048#874
19038#846
19027#932
19015#1,057
19000–
18990–
18980–
18970–
18960–
18950–
18940–
18930–
18920–
18917#765
18900–
18890–
18886#917

Nicknames for Ricardo

Names like Ricardo

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Joshua Rocco Leonardo Rodrigo Rico Reggie Christopher Robbie Elliot Lorenzo Matthew Michael

Other spellings of Ricardo

Riccardo

Names related to Ricardo

Richard Richardo Recardo

More Germanic names

Amelia Liam Henry Charlotte William Archie Charlie Emma Freddie Ella Harry Millie Albie Matilda Louie Miles

Every Germanic name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Ricardo: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/ricardo, updated 20 October 2026.