Ricardo

Did you know?

A few things about Ricardo you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Ricardo

Ricardo Carvalho

Portuguese footballer

Choose Ricardo and your child shares a first name with Ricardo Carvalho, a Portuguese footballer. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Ricardo, like who?” Ricardo Carvalho's Wikipedia article is available in 65 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Ricardo Carvalho on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Jan S0L0, CC BY-SA 2.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 2,050 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Ricardo, 833 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Ricardo would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryRicardo first shows up in US birth records in 1888, the first year at least 5 babies got it. It has been in use for 137 years since.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1992, when it ranked #115. Today it's #380, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📉Then vs nowRicardo was 3.0× more common in 2000 than it is today. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 673 baby boys; in 2025, about 1 in 2,050.
• 🍂TrendRicardo has slipped 41 places over the last five years and now sits at #380. Good news if you want a familiar name that fewer kids will share.
• 📍Where it's lovedRicardo is most popular in New Mexico, where it ranks #148, followed by Texas (#166) and Arizona (#200). It's in the top 1,000 in 29 states.
• 💬MeaningRicardo is a Spanish form of Richard, which means “brave ruler”. Our records link it to English, German and Portuguese roots.
• 🌍OriginRicardo is the #7 most popular Portuguese boy name in the US. That's out of 44 Portuguese boy and unisex names in our list.

About the name Ricardo

Ricardo is a boy name of English, German and Portuguese origin meaning “brave ruler”. It has 7 letters and 3 syllables, starting with R and ending in “-rdo”. US birth records list Ricardo for boys from 1888 to 2025, in 125 of those 138 years. Its best year was 1992, when it ranked #115 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #380, with 833 babies.

Origin:English namesGerman namesPortuguese namesSpanish names