Richele
A feminine name of English origin derived from the masculine name Richard, meaning "powerful ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 661 living Americans carry the first name Richele. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Richele today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Richele births was 1969 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Richele. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
661
~ 1 in 518,539 Americans
Peak year
1969
43 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
2001 SSA rank
#14,921
Tracked since 1953
Popularity
Richele: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Richele from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 240 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Richele by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Richele during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Richeles live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, Pennsylvania, Michigan recorded the most babies named Richele, while New York, Michigan, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 19 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Richele
The name Richele is a variant of the French name Michelle, which ultimately derives from the Hebrew name Michael. Michael is a theophoric name, meaning "Who is like God?" in Hebrew. The name first appeared in the Bible as the name of an archangel.
The name Richele emerged as a French variation of Michelle during the Middle Ages. It was likely influenced by the Old French word "riche," meaning wealthy or rich. This variation may have been used to distinguish a branch of the family or to indicate a higher social status.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Richele can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland." The poem mentions a character named Richele, who was a knight accompanying the legendary Frankish ruler Charlemagne.
During the Renaissance period, the name Richele gained some popularity among the French nobility. Richele de Montpensier (1495-1538) was a prominent French noblewoman and the daughter of the Duke of Bourbon. She was known for her political influence and her involvement in the Wars of Religion in France.
In the 17th century, Richele Arnauld (1617-1694) was a French Jansenist nun and theologian. She was an influential figure in the Jansenist movement and authored several works on theology and spirituality.
Another notable figure with the name Richele was Richele de Rochechouart (1660-1753), a French noblewoman and courtier at the court of Louis XIV. She was known for her wit and intelligence and was a prominent figure in the literary salons of Paris.
Richele de Lespinasse (1732-1776) was a French salonist and writer who hosted one of the most famous literary salons in Paris during the Enlightenment period. She was known for her intellectual prowess and her influential circle of friends, which included philosophers and writers such as Diderot and D'Alembert.
People
Richele + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Richele as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with R
Other first names starting with R with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Richele: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Richele?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 661 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Richele going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 518,539 US residents.
Is Richele a common name?
We classify Richele as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 751 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Richele most popular?
The single biggest year for Richele was 1969, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Richele is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Richele a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Richele in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.