Rick
A masculine name derived from the nickname "Rick" for Richard, meaning powerful leader.
Name Census estimates that about 66,209 living Americans carry the first name Rick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Rick today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Rick births was 1958 (5,468 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Rick. 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.
Key insights
- • Although Rick is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 135 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1950s, recent registration numbers for Rick have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
66K
~ 1 in 5,177 Americans
Peak year
1958
5,468 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,981
Tracked since 1919
Gender
Gender distribution for Rick
Out of the 81,927 babies given the name Rick since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Rick as a male name
- Ranked #2,981 in 2024
- 42 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1958 (5,462 births)
Rick as a female name
- Ranked #11,849 in 1982
- 5 female births in 1982
- Peak: 1961 (13 births)
Popularity
Rick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Rick from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 34,411 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Rick 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 Rick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ricks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Ohio, Michigan recorded the most babies named Rick, while Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,533 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Rick
The given name Rick is a shortened form of the Germanic name Richard, which is derived from the Old Germanic words "ric" meaning powerful or brave, and "hard" meaning hardy, strong, or brave. The name Richard was first recorded in the 8th century and was popularized across Europe by the Normans after they conquered England in 1066.
The origins of the name Rick can be traced back to the Old English name Ricard, which was eventually anglicized to Richard. It is believed that Rick emerged as a nickname or diminutive form of Richard sometime in the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rick can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholders in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror in 1086. Several individuals with the name Ric or Ricardus were listed in this document.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Rick or its variations. One of the most famous was Richard I, also known as Richard the Lionheart (1157-1199), who was King of England from 1189 until his death. Another prominent figure was Richard III (1452-1485), the last Plantagenet king of England, whose reign was marked by controversy and conflict.
In the realm of literature, the name Rick is associated with the character Rick Deckard from Philip K. Dick's novel "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (1968), which was later adapted into the film "Blade Runner" (1982).
Other notable individuals with the name Rick include Rick Riordan (born 1964), the American author best known for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series; Rick Astley (born 1966), the English singer-songwriter famous for his hit song "Never Gonna Give You Up"; and Rick Rubin (born 1963), the American record producer and co-founder of Def Jam Recordings.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Rick
People
Rick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Rick 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
Rick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Rick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 66,209 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Rick 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 5,177 US residents.
Is Rick a common name?
We classify Rick as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 81,927 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Rick most popular?
The single biggest year for Rick was 1958, when 5,468 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Rick is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Rick a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Rick in the SSA data are male. 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.