Ricky is a pet form of Richard or Ricardo that became a given name in its own right; Richard is Germanic and means "brave ruler" or "powerful leader", from ric, power, and hard, hardy. It was at its height in the 1950s, when Ricky Nelson sang on television and Ricky Ricardo starred in I Love Lucy, and today it is carried on largely in Hispanic families. Ricky has been in the US top 1000 every year since 2000, when it stood at number 294, and ranks number 949 in 2025.