Find out how popular the last name Ricardo is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Ricardo.

Ricardo, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Ricardo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ricardo in America

Ricardo is the 9433rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ricardo surname appeared 3,448 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ricardo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ricardo to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Ricardo

The surname Ricardo originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is a Latinized form of the Germanic name Richard, which means "brave power" or "powerful ruler". The name was likely brought to Spain by the Visigoths, a Germanic tribe that ruled parts of the Iberian Peninsula between the 5th and 8th centuries.

In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as Richart or Ricard in various regions of Spain, particularly in the northern areas such as Catalonia and Aragon. As the use of Latin spread throughout Europe, the name evolved into the Latinized form Ricardo, which became more common in written records and official documents.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Ricardo can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. The manuscript mentions several individuals with the surname, indicating that it was already well-established in Spain by that time.

In the 15th century, the surname gained prominence with the birth of Bartolomé Ricardo (1445-1509), a Spanish theologian and philosopher who served as the rector of the University of Salamanca. His works on logic and metaphysics were widely influential during the Renaissance period.

Another notable bearer of the surname was Jerónimo Ricardo (1540-1624), a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Philippines and served as the governor of the Mariana Islands from 1596 to 1600.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Ricardo spread beyond Spain as a result of Spanish exploration and colonization efforts. It can be found in various historical records from the Spanish colonies in the Americas, particularly in Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname in the Americas is that of Diego Ricardo, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. He later settled in the region and established a prominent family line.

In the 19th century, the surname gained international recognition with the birth of David Ricardo (1772-1823), a British political economist and influential thinker in the field of classical economics. Although of Jewish-Portuguese descent, his family had adopted the surname Ricardo while living in the Netherlands before settling in England.

Throughout history, the surname Ricardo has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, soldiers, explorers, and statesmen. Its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Spain, where it emerged as a Latinized form of a Germanic name, reflecting the cultural and linguistic influences that shaped the Iberian Peninsula over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ricardo

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Ricardo.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Ricardo was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Ricardo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Ricardo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Ricardo, please contact us.

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