Riku
- Gender
- Boy
- Say it
- REE-koo
- Origin
- Japanese
- US rank, 2025
- #6,442 for boys
Riku is a boys' name of Japanese origin, meaning “land”. In 2025 it ranked 6,442nd for boys in the US (13 babies).
What does Riku mean?
Japanese: Japanese; also a Finnish short form of Richard
“land”
Often written in Japan with the character for 'land', Riku is also a Finnish short form of Rikhard and a hero of Kingdom Hearts.
Is Riku a girl's or a boy's name?
Riku is a boys' name. In 2025, it was given to 13 boys in the US. Too few girls were given it to be listed.
How popular is Riku in the UK?
No boys in the UK were given it in 2025, or too few to be listed. Its busiest year was 1997, with 5 boys.
Riku in the UK, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 3 | #5,198 |
| 2023 | 0 | – |
| 2022 | 0 | – |
| 2021 | 5 | #3,614 |
| 2020 | 0 | – |
| 2019 | 4 | #4,126 |
| 2018 | 3 | #4,959 |
| 2017 | 3 | #4,995 |
| 2016 | 0 | – |
| 2015 | 0 | – |
| 2014 | 0 | – |
| 2013 | 0 | – |
| 2012 | 0 | – |
| 2011 | 0 | – |
| 2010 | 0 | – |
| 2009 | 4 | #3,909 |
| 2008 | 3 | #4,615 |
| 2007 | 0 | – |
| 2006 | 0 | – |
| 2005 | 0 | – |
| 2004 | 0 | – |
| 2003 | 0 | – |
| 2002 | 0 | – |
| 2001 | 0 | – |
| 2000 | 0 | – |
| 1999 | 4 | #2,513 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 5 | #2,109 |
How popular is Riku in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- #6,442among boys
- Babies in 2025
- 13about 1 in 130,000 boys
- Five-year trend
- Steadyup 12% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1%chance among 15 boys
In 2025, 13 boys in the US were named Riku, making it the 6,442nd most popular name for boys. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,271st. Its busiest year was 2024, with 24 boys. It first appears in the records in 1996.
2025 had fewer boys named Riku than any year since 2019.
Half of all the boys named Riku in the US since 1880 were born between 2006 and 2020, the years shaded on the chart below.
Riku in the US, year by year
| Year | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 13 | #6,442 |
| 2024 | 24 | #4,318 |
| 2023 | 21 | #4,738 |
| 2022 | 21 | #4,697 |
| 2021 | 19 | #4,932 |
| 2020 | 23 | #4,271 |
| 2019 | 13 | #6,401 |
| 2018 | 16 | #5,536 |
| 2017 | 18 | #5,107 |
| 2016 | 17 | #5,314 |
| 2015 | 16 | #5,503 |
| 2014 | 22 | #4,389 |
| 2013 | 21 | #4,461 |
| 2012 | 19 | #4,857 |
| 2011 | 17 | #5,196 |
| 2010 | 21 | #4,516 |
| 2009 | 23 | #4,276 |
| 2008 | 13 | #6,388 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,618 |
| 2006 | 19 | #4,671 |
| 2005 | 10 | #7,089 |
| 2004 | 18 | #4,597 |
| 2003 | 17 | #4,611 |
| 2002 | 9 | #7,048 |
| 2001 | 12 | #5,660 |
| 2000 | 12 | #5,581 |
| 1999 | 19 | #3,829 |
| 1998 | 0 | – |
| 1997 | 10 | #5,636 |
| 1996 | 8 | #6,489 |
Names like Riku
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Kairo Loki Rumi Yug Minh Ruairi Shko Yoan Kenzo Yusuf Yitzchok Yunus
Names related to Riku
More Japanese names
Kobe Kaizen Raiden Ren Akari Ronin Kyomi Akira Yuna Emi Kiyomi Kairi Miya Kenji Reo Jiraiya
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, “Riku: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/riku, updated 20 October 2026.