Rikard
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, equivalent to English Richard. From Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). First recorded in Sweden in the 1160s.
Source: Wiktionary, Swedish entry for Rikard (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Rikard has been falling over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1999. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 41 |
| 1999 | 51 |
| 2000 | 30 |
| 2001 | 40 |
| 2002 | 21 |
| 2003 | 21 |
| 2004 | 9 |
| 2005 | 15 |
| 2006 | 11 |
| 2007 | 9 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 6 |
| 2010 | 4 |
| 2011 | 7 |
| 2012 | 6 |
| 2013 | 9 |
| 2014 | 6 |
| 2015 | 4 |
| 2016 | – |
| 2017 | 2 |
| 2018 | – |
| 2019 | 3 |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | – |
| 2022 | – |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Men and boys |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 4,852 |
| 2000 | 4,926 |
| 2001 | 4,992 |
| 2002 | 5,062 |
| 2003 | 5,134 |
| 2004 | 5,166 |
| 2005 | 5,190 |
| 2006 | 5,215 |
| 2007 | 5,203 |
| 2008 | 5,215 |
| 2009 | 5,201 |
| 2010 | 5,195 |
| 2011 | 5,184 |
| 2012 | 5,196 |
| 2013 | 5,197 |
| 2014 | 5,188 |
| 2015 | 5,177 |
| 2016 | 5,164 |
| 2017 | 5,145 |
| 2018 | 5,128 |
| 2019 | 5,119 |
| 2020 | 5,129 |
Rikard in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Rikard.Hi! My name is Rikard.
- Rikard har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Rikard has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Rikards mamma är lärare.Rikard's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Rikards mamma is Rikard's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Rikard
How do you pronounce Rikard in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Rikard from a native speaker's recording.
What does the name Rikard mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name, equivalent to English Richard. From Proto-Germanic *Rīkaharduz, a construction of *rīks (“king, ruler”) + *harduz (“hard, brave”). First recorded in Sweden in the 1160s.
How popular is Rikard in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Rikard in 2022. In 2020, 5,129 people in Sweden had Rikard as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been falling lately and peaked in 1999 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.