Richard is a male given name. It originates, via
Old French, from
Old Frankish
Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century.
After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul, its speakers in Picardy an ...
and is a
compound of the words descending from
Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong in rule'.
Nicknames include "
Richie", "
Dick", "
Dickon", "
Dickie",
"
Rich", "
Rick", "
Rico", "
Ricky",
and more.
Richard is a common English, German and French male name. It's also used in many more languages, particularly Germanic, such as Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch, as well as other languages including Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Finnish. Richard is cognate with variants of the name in other European languages, such as the Swedish "Rickard", the Catalan "Ricard" and the Italian "Riccardo", among others (see comprehensive variant list below).
People named Richard
Multiple people with the same name
*
Richard Andersen (disambiguation)
*
Richard Anderson (disambiguation)
*
Richard Cartwright (disambiguation) Richard Cartwright may refer to:
*Richard Cartwright (Loyalist) (1759–1815), businessman, judge and political figure in Upper Canada
*Sir Richard John Cartwright (1835–1912), Canadian Member of Parliament and Senator
*Richard Cartwright (bisho ...
*
Richard Chase (disambiguation)
*
Richard Green (disambiguation)
*
Richard Greene (disambiguation)
*
Richard Griffith (disambiguation)
*
Richard Griffiths (disambiguation)
*
Richard Marks (disambiguation)
*
Richard Rodgers (disambiguation)
*
Richard Rogers (disambiguation)
*
Richard Walsh (disambiguation)
*
Richard Welch (disambiguation)
*
Richard Wilkins (disambiguation)
*
Richard Wilson (disambiguation)
Rulers and heads of state
*
Richard, Duke of Burgundy (858–921)
*
Richard I of Normandy (933–996), Duke of Normandy
*
Richard II, Duke of Normandy (died 1026), son of Richard I of Normandy
*
Richard I of Capua (died 1078), King of Capua and Count of Aversa
*
Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart (1157–1199)
*
Richard of Cornwall (1209–1272), 1st Earl of Cornwall, elected King of Germany
*
Richard II of England
Richard II (6 January 1367 – ), also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. He was the son of Edward the Black Prince, Prince of Wales, and Joan, Countess of Kent. Richard's father die ...
(1367–1400)
*
Richard III of England
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
(1452–1485)
*
Richard Cromwell (1626–1712), son and successor of Oliver Cromwell, Protector of England
Aristocrats and non-ruling royals
*
Richard fitz Gilbert (before 1035 – c. 1090), Norman lord involved in the conquest of England
*
Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester (1222–1262)
*
Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge
*
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster
Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster and 3rd Baron of Connaught (; ; 1259 – 29 July 1326), called The Red Earl ( Latinized to de Burgo), was one of the most powerful Irish nobles of the late 13th and early 14th centuries and father of ...
(1259–1326)
*
Richard Orsini (died 1304), Count Palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, Count of Gravina, Bailli of Achaea
*
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400 – 31 December 1460) was an English nobleman and magnate based in northern England who became a key supporter of the House of York during the early years of the Wars of the Roses. He was the ...
(1400–1460), Yorkist leader in the Wars of the Roses
*
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (1411–1460), a principal participant in the Wars of the Roses
*
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury (1400 – 31 December 1460) was an English nobleman and magnate based in northern England who became a key supporter of the House of York during the early years of the Wars of the Roses. He was the ...
*
Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick (1428–1471), wealthy English magnate and major protagonist in the Wars of the Roses
*
Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York (1473 – c. 1483), who would have been King Richard IV of England if he had lived
*
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694–1753), instrumental in the revival of Palladian architecture
*
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 1st Duke of Buckingham and Chandos
*
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville, 2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos (1797–1861), noted for squandering his great wealth
*
(1823–1889), British soldier, politician and administrator
*
Prince Richard von Metternich (1829–1895), Austrian diplomat
*
Richard, 6th Prince of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg (born 1934), German-Swedish aristocrat and landowner, husband of Princess Benedikte of Denmark
*
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester (born 1944), British royal
Religious figures
*
Saint Richard (disambiguation), several saints
*
Richard Baxter (1615–1691), English Puritan church leader, poet and hymn-writer
*
Richard of Dover
Richard (died 1184) was a medieval Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Canterbury. Employed by Thomas Becket immediately before Becket's death, Richard arranged for Becket to be buried in Canterbury Cathedral and eventually succeeded Becket at Ca ...
(died 1184), Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Canterbury
*
Richard Foxe (c. 1448 – 1528), Bishop of Exeter, Bath and Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus Christi College, Oxford
*
Richard Furman
Richard Furman (9 October 1755 – 25 August 1825) was a Baptist leader from Charleston, South Carolina, United States. He was elected in 1814 as the first president of the Triennial Convention, the first nationwide Baptist association. Later h ...
(1755–1825), American Baptist leader, first president of the Triennial Convention, the first nationwide Baptist association
*
Richard von Greiffenklau zu Vollrads (1467–1531), Archbishop-Elector of Trier from 1511 to 1531
*
Richard of Poitiers (died c. 1174), French monk, author of historical works, treatises and poems
*
Richard Poore (died 1237), Bishop of Salisbury and Durham, who helped found Salisbury Cathedral in its present location
*
Richard Swinefield (died 1317), Bishop of Hereford
In politics and government
*
Richard Acland (1906–1990), one of the founders of the British Common Wealth Party and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
*
Richard B. Adkisson (1932–2011), chief justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court
*
Richard Aluwihare (1895–1976), Sri Lankan diplomat
*
Dick Armey (born 1940), American politician, member US House of Representatives from Texas (1985–2003)
*
Richard Armitage (politician)
Richard Lee Armitage (born April 26, 1945) is an American former diplomat and government official.
A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Armitage served as a U.S. Navy officer in three combat tours of duty in the Vietnam War as a river ...
(born 1945), American government official, Deputy Secretary of State (2001–2005)
*
Richard Arrington Jr. (born 1934), first African-American mayor of the city of Birmingham, Alabama
*
R. B. Bennett
Richard Bedford Bennett, 1st Viscount Bennett, (July 3, 1870 – June 26, 1947), was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as the 11th prime minister of Canada from 1930 to 1935.
Bennett was born in ...
(1870–1947), Canadian politician, Prime Minister of Canada (1930–1935)
*
Richard Blumenthal (born 1946), American politician, US Senator from Connecticut (2010–present)
*
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington (1612–1698), Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a cavalier
*
Richard Leslie Brohier (1892–1980), Sri Lankan
Burgher land surveyor and author
*
Richard Burr (born 1955), American politician, US Senator from North Carolina (2005–present)
*
Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
(born 1941), American politician, Congressman from Wyoming (1979–1989), Secretary of Defense (1989–1993) and Vice President (2001–2009)
*
Dick Clark (senator) (born 1928), American politician, US Senator from Iowa (1973–1979)
*
Richard Court (born 1947), Australian politician, Premier of Western Australia (1993–2001)
*
Richard J. Daley (1902–1976), American politician, Mayor of Chicago (1955–1976)
*
Richard M. Daley (born 1942), American politician, Illinois state senator (1972–1980) and Mayor of Chicago (1989–2011)
*
Richard Darman
Richard Gordon "Dick" Darman (May 10, 1943January 25, 2008) was an American businessman and government official who served in senior positions during the presidencies of Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
Early life
Darma