Richard

Richard meaning

Richard is a Christian and international boy's name of Germanic origin (via Norman French).

Powerful + hard, strong, brave (Old High German rīhhi, hart)

Also used to mean: brave ruler, strong king

Richard is a Germanic name made of two parts. The first, rīhhi, is glossed in Köbler's Old High German dictionary as 'rich, powerful, mighty'; in names it carries the old sense of a ruler. The second, hart, means 'hard, firm, strong', from a Germanic word that also meant 'brave'. So name lists give Richard as 'brave ruler' or 'strong king'. The Normans brought it to England, where it became the name of kings, above all Richard the Lionheart, and of saints such as Richard of Chichester. In India Richard is used in Christian families, and can be shortened to Richie.

Source: Gerhard Köbler, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch (6th ed., 2014), s.v. rīhhi; s.v. hart · entry rīhhi; hart · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Köbler, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, rīhhi · Köbler, Althochdeutsches Wörterbuch, hart · Wikipedia, Richard

Famous namesakes

• Richard I of England, 'the Lionheart'
• St Richard of Chichester, English bishop

Popularity abroad

• #234 United States, boys 2025 (down 1 from 233 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #431 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Richard · Richerd

Related names

Also meaning strength

More names of Germanic origin

Browse more like this