How Many People Are Named Richard Harris?

There are approximately 3,166 people named Richard Harris living in the United States today. That makes this name combination common, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 108,261 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Richard with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Harris. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

3,166

1 in 108,261 Americans

Combination Rarity

Common

Very Rare Very Common

Richard: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Richard. The peak year was 1946 with 58,991 births. The average person named Richard today is 62 years old.

Male
Female
0 12K 24K 35K 47K 59K 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020

Ancestry of the First Name Richard

In the 2020 Census, the first name Richard was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (82.26%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (7.96%) and Black (5.21%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Richard in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Richard rose or fell over time.

White
82.26%
Black
5.21%
Hispanic
7.96%
Asian/Pacific Islander
1.87%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.55%
Two or More Races
2.14%

Ancestry of the Harris Surname

The surname Harris was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Harris in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White
49.23%
Black
41.04%
Hispanic
3.31%
Asian/Pacific Islander
0.62%
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.62%
Two or More Races
5.19%

How we calculated this

The first name "Richard" has an estimated frequency of 0.458% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Harris" appears at a rate of 201.87 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Richard are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 3,166 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Richard Harris: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Richard Harris?

We estimate approximately 3,166 people named Richard Harris are alive in the United States today. The first name Richard is shared by 1,568,549 Americans, and the surname Harris is shared by 691,901.

How rare is the name Richard Harris?

This name combination is classified as Common, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 108,261 Americans. The first name Richard is very common and the surname Harris is very common.

Is Richard a male or female name?

Richard is predominantly male, with 99.6% of bearers being male and 0.4% female. It peaked in popularity in 1946 and the average bearer today is 62 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Richard?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Richard was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (82.26%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (7.96%) and Black (5.21%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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