"rc" derives from "runcom", from the MIT CTSS system, ca. 1965.
'There was a facility that would execute a bunch of commands stored in a file; it was called "runcom" for "run commands", and the file began to be called "a runcom."
"rc" in Unix is a fossil from that usage.'
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So there you have it. "rc" stands for "runcom", which in turn was a shortening of "run commands".
So claiming it stands for "run commands" isn't far from the truth.