2000
#10,578
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,783
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Ricard
A French occupational surname referring to a person who was powerful, mighty, or brave.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,298 Americans carry the last name Ricard. That puts it at #10,621 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 103,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ricard surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 103,928
Census rank
#10,621
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,876 bearers of the surname Ricard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10621st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ricard, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Hispanic (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ricard
The surname Ricard originated in France during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French given name Richard, which in turn comes from the Germanic elements "ric" meaning power or rule, and "hard" meaning brave or hardy. The name was brought to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ricard appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a manuscript record of landholders in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. Several individuals with the surname Ricard are listed as landowners in various counties.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named William Ricard served as Sheriff of Herefordshire in England. Around the same time, a Benedictine monk named Peter Ricard lived in the diocese of Coutances in Normandy, France.
During the 13th century, the surname Ricard was found in various records across England and France. A man named John Ricard was recorded as a landowner in the county of Somerset, England in 1273. In France, a nobleman named Guillaume Ricard was mentioned in a charter from the region of Burgundy in 1285.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Ricard was a French poet and author named Arnaud Ricard, who lived in the 14th century. His work "Le Livres des Vertus" was a popular book of moral teachings at the time.
In the 15th century, a French noble named Jean Ricard served as a chamberlain to King Charles VII of France. Another notable figure was Étienne Ricard, a French architect who designed several churches and buildings in the city of Lyon between 1480 and 1515.
As the surname spread throughout Europe, it underwent various spelling variations such as Riccard, Rickard, and Richart. Some notable individuals with these variations include Sir Paul Riccard, a 16th-century English politician, and Sir Andrew Riccard, a 17th-century English merchant and financier.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ricard
Among Census respondents with the surname Ricard, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Hispanic (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Ricard bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ricard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White63.4% · 1,822
- Black or African American23.7% · 683
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 210
- Two or more races4.6% · 132
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ricard
Ricard appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#10,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,984
+201 bearers (+7.2%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 130 places
2020
#10,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,876
-108 bearers (-3.6%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Up 87 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,578 | 2,783 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,708 | 2,984 | 1.01 | +201 bearers (+7.2%) | Down 130 places |
| 2020 | #10,621 | 2,876 | 0.96 | -108 bearers (-3.6%) | Up 87 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ricard surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #10,708 | #10,621 | 0.8% |
| Count | 2,984 | 2,876 | -3.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.96 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ricard bearers went from 2,984 to 2,876 (-3.6% change). The surname moved up 87 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,708 to #10,621.
FAQ
Ricard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ricard?
Name Census estimates that about 3,298 living Americans carry the surname Ricard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 103,928 residents.
How common is Ricard?
Ricard ranks #10,621 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,876 people with the surname Ricard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,298), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Ricard.
Has Ricard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ricard went from 2,984 recorded bearers to 2,876. That is a decrease of 108 (-3.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,708 to #10,621.
What does the Census say about the background of Ricard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ricard, the largest self-reported group is White at 63.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.7%) and Hispanic (7.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ricard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 63.4% (1,822 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ricard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (63.4%), Black (23.7%), Hispanic (7.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ricard (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ricard mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a person who was powerful, mighty, or brave. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ricard (0.96 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Ricard?
See how many Americans have the surname Ricard on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.