Richard

The Germanic first or given name Richard derives from the old Germanic words "ric" ("ruler, leader, king") and "hard" ("strong, brave, hardy"), and it therefore means "strong in rule".[1][3] Nicknames include "Richy", "Dick", "Dickon", "Dickie",[2] "Rich", "Richie", "Rick", "Rico", "Ricky",[1] and others.

This article is about the given name. For other uses, see Richard (disambiguation).

Richard
17th-century portrait of Richard the Lionheart, a 12th-century King of England
PronunciationEnglish: /ˈrɪtʃərd/
French: [ʁiʃaʁ]
German: [ˈʁɪçaɐ̯t] (Germany) or [ˈrɪçart] (Austria and Switzerland)
Czech: [ˈrɪxart]
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameProto-Germanic
Meaningstrong or brave leader
Other names
Nickname(s)Richy, Rich, Rick, Dick, Dickie, Dicken, Reeks, Riccardo, Riquix, Richie, Ricardo, Rico, Ricky, Richi, Rickey, Rickard[1][2]

"Richard" is a common male name in many Germanic languages, including English, German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch. It is also often used as a French, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Finnish, or Estonian name.

People named Richard

Rulers and heads of state

In politics and government
  • Richard Acland (1906–1990), one of the founders of the British Common Wealth Party and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament
  • Dick Armey (born 1940), American politician, member US House of Representatives from Texas (1985–2003)
  • Richard Armitage (politician) (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
  • Richard Bedford "R.B." Bennett (1870–1947), Canadian politician, Prime Minister of Canada (1930–1935).
  • Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington (1612–1698), Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a cavalier.
  • Richard Burr (born 1955), American politician, US Senator from North Carolina (2005-present)
  • Richard "Dick" Cheney (born 1941), American politician, Member of the US House of Representatives 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 (1943–2008), American businessman and government official, White House Staff Secretary (1981–1985), Deputy Secretary of the Treasury (1985–1987) and Director of the Office of Management and Budget (1989–1993)
  • Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple (1711–1779), British politician and associate and brother-in-law of William Pitt
  • Richard J. Gordon (born 1945) Filipino politician and broadcaster
  • Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane, British nobleman and politician
  • Richard Hatfield (1931–1991), Canadian politician, Premier of New Brunswick (1970–1987)
  • Richard Helms (1913–2002), American government official, Director of Central Intelligence (1966–1973), US Ambassador to Iran (1973–1977)
  • Richard Johnson (judge) (born 1937), Irish jurist, President of the Irish High Court (2006–2009)
  • Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (1641–1712), Irish peer, and politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland
  • Richard Lovell Edgeworth (1744–1817) Anglo-Irish politician, writer and inventor
  • Richard Lugar (born 1932), American politician, US Senator from Indiana (1977–2011)
  • Richard Mentor Johnson (1780–1850), American politician, Member of the US House of Representatives from Kentucky (1807–1819 and 1829–1833), US Senator from Kentucky (1819–1829) and Vice President (1837–1841)
  • Dick Murphy, (born 1942) American politician who served as the 33rd Mayor of San Diego, California
  • Richard L. Murphy (1875–1936), Democratic US Senator from Iowa
  • Richard W. Murphy (born 1929), American diplomat and career member of the foreign service
  • Richard Nixon (1913–1994), American politician, President of the United States (1969–1974) and Vice President (1953–1961)
  • Richard Perle (born 1941), American government official and foreign policy specialist, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Global Strategic Affairs 1981–1987
  • Richard F. Pettigrew (1848–1926), American lawyer, surveyor, and land developer
  • Richard Rush (1780–1859), American politician, US Attorney General (1814–1817) and Secretary of the Treasury (1825–1829)
  • Richard Seddon (1845–1906), New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1893–1906)
  • Richard Shelby (born 1934), American politician, US Senator from Alabama (1987-present)
  • Richard Stockton (1764–1828), American politician, US Senator from New Jersey (1796–1799), Member of the US House of Representatives (1813–1815)
  • Dick Thornburgh (born 1932), American politician, Governor of Pennsylvania (1979–1987) and US Attorney General (1988–1991)
  • Richard von Weizsäcker (1920–2015), German politician, Governing Mayor of West Berlin (1981–1984) and President of the Federal Republic of Germany (1984–1994)
  • Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley (1760–1842), Anglo-Irish Governor-General of India, Foreign Secretary in the British Cabinet and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, brother of the 1st Duke of Wellington
  • Richard Wild (judge) (1912–1978), New Zealand jurist, Chief Justice of New Zealand (1966–1978)

Aristocrats and non-ruling royals

Business people
  • Richard L. Bloch (born 1929), American investor, real estate developer, banker, and philanthropist.
  • Richard Branson (born 1950), British businessman and founder of the Virgin Group of companies
  • Richard DeVos (born 1926), American businessman and co-founder of Amway
  • Richard Jacobs (businessman) (1925–2009), real estate businessman and owner of the Cleveland Indians baseball team
  • Richard Oetker (born 1951), German businessman, CEO of Dr. Oetker since 2010
  • Richard Rawlings (born 1969), star of American television show Fast N' Loud, owner of Gas Monkey garage, Gas Monkey Bar N' Grill and Gas Monkey Live
  • Richard Warren Sears (1863–1914), co-founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and considered a promotional genius
  • Richard Velazquez (born 1973), PepsiCo executive and first automotive designer at Porsche AG (Germany) of Puerto Rican descent
  • Richard Wilding, British businessman and academic

Religious figures

In music


Composers
  • Richard Dybeck (1811–1877), Swedish lyricist who wrote the national anthem of Sweden
  • Richard Heuberger (1850–1924), Austrian composer of operas and operettas, music critic, and teacher
  • Richard D. James (born 1971), British composer and electronic musician, records music as Aphex Twin, among other monikers.
  • Richard Mohaupt (1904–1957), German-American composer and conductor
  • Richard Strauss (1864–1949), German composer and conductor
  • Richard Wagner (1813–1883), German composer, writer, conductor and theatre director
  • Rich Batsford pianist, composer and singer songwriter

Singers and musicians

Actors

In film and television

Explorers
  • Richard R. Arnold (born 1963), American astronaut
  • Richard Francis Burton (1821–1890), British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat
  • Richard E. Byrd (1888–1957), US Navy rear admiral, aviator and explorer
  • Richard Masters (aka William Marsters), English sailor, cooper, trader and explorer
  • Dick Rutkowski, diving medicine pioneer

Scientists

Soldiers
  • Richard Baer (1911–1963), German Nazi SS concentration camp commandant
  • Richard O'Connor (1889–1981), British Army officer and military commander
  • Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel (c. 1306–1376), English military leader
  • Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel (1346–1397), English military commander
  • Richard G. Graves, retired lieutenant general in the United States Army, commander of III Corps and Fort Hood
  • Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe (1726–1799), British naval commander in the American War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars
  • Richard Marcinko (born 1940), US Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran
  • Richard Myers (born 1942), US Air Force general, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (2000–2001) and Chairman (2001–2005)
  • Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers (c. 1660 – 1712), soldier and noted rake
  • Richard Taylor (1826–1879), American Civil War Confederate general
  • Richard Udugama (1911–1995), 6th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
  • Richard Winters (1918–2011), US Army major and Second World War veteran

In sports

Writers and journalists

Crime

Other
  • Richard R. Arnold (born 1963), American educator and a NASA astronaut
  • Dick Assman (born 1934–2016), Canadian gas station owner
  • Richard Bergh (1858–1919), Swedish painter
  • Richard Tyler Blevins (born 1991), American professional gamer, Mixer streamer and YouTube personality
  • Richard Chase (disambiguation), several people
  • Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi (1894–1972), Austrian-Japanese count, founding president of the Paneuropean Union
  • Richard O. Covey (born 1946), United States Air Force officer and former NASA astronaut
  • Richard Everitt (1979–1994), victim of a racially motivated murder in London
  • Richard Garriott (born 1961), British-American video game developer, entrepreneur and private astronaut
  • Richard F. Gordon Jr. (1929–2017), American naval officer and aviator, chemist, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, and an American football executive
  • Richard von Hegener (1905–1981), German official, primary organizer of Action T4 Nazi euthanasia program
  • Richard Helms (naturalist) (1842–1914), Australian naturalist
  • Richard Hieb (born 1955), former NASA astronaut and a veteran of three space shuttle missions
  • Rick Husband (1957–2003), American astronaut and fighter pilot
  • Richard Ling (born 1954), Shaw Foundation professor of Media Technology at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
  • Richard M. Linnehan (born 1957), United States Army veterinarian and a NASA astronaut
  • Richard Lugner (born 1932), Austrian entrepreneur and Viennese society figure
  • Richard Mastracchio (born 1960), American engineer and former NASA astronaut
  • Richard Maury (1882–1950), American naturalized Argentine engineer
  • Richard Michael Mullane (born 1945), engineer and aircraft pilot, a retired USAF officer
  • Richard Murphy (Captain) (1838–1916), Gloucester, Massachusetts fishing schooner captain
  • Richard N. Richards (born 1946), retired American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, chemical engineer, and a former NASA astronaut
  • Richard Samuel (1770–1786), English portrait painter
  • Richard "Dick" Scobee (1939–1986), American pilot, engineer and astronaut, killed while commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger
  • Richard A. Searfoss (1956–2018), American aviator who was United States Air Force colonel, NASA astronaut and test pilot
  • Richard Sorge (1895–1944), Soviet World War II spy
  • Richard Thomalla (1903–1945), SS commander of Nazi Germany, civil engineer, head of the SS Central Building Administration
  • Richard H. Truly (born 1937), retired Vice Admiral in the United States Navy, a former fighter pilot, engineer, former astronaut for both the United States Air Force and NASA, and the eighth Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) from 1989 to 1992
  • Dick Turpin (1705–1739), English Highwayman
  • Richard von Volkmann (1830–1889), German surgeon and author of poetry and fiction

Fictional characters
  • Richard Ashenden, the main character in the 1936 Hitchcock film Secret Agent
  • Richard Blaine, the main character in the 1942 film Casablanca
  • Richard Blaney, the main character in the film Frenzy
  • Richard Cobb, character in the film The Invisible Man Returns
  • Richard Fenton, character in the 1994 miniseries, Scarlett
  • Richard "Dick" Grayson, the first Robin, Batman's side-kick
  • Richard Hannay, the main character in the novel The Thirty Nine Steps
  • Richard Hillman, serial killer in the UK soap opera Coronation Street
  • Richard, title character of the 2017 animated film Richard the Stork
  • Richard Mayhew, the main character in the television series Neverwhere
  • Richie Rich (comics), main character of the Richie Rich series
  • Richie Ryan (Highlander), one of the main characters on Highlander: The Series played by Stan Kirsch]
  • Rick Sanchez (Rick and Morty), Main character on Rick and Morty
  • Richard Sharpe, the main character in the Sharpe novel series and in portrayed by Sean Bean in the TV adaptation
  • Richard Vincent, character in the 2001 miniseries The SoulTaker, in which he is the father of the title character
  • Prince Richard, character in the 1992 Nintendo Gameboy game, For the Frog the Bell Tolls.
  • Richard, a character in the LEGO show, Unikitty!

Cognates/transliterations

In Indo-European languages

Baltic

Celtic

Germanic

Romance

Slavic

Other

In Semitic languages
  • Arabic: ريتشارد (Rytshrd, Ritshrd, Rytshard, Ritshard)
  • Hebrew: ריצ'רד (Richard)

In Turkic languages

In Uralic languages

In other languages

Short forms
  • Cornish: Hicca
  • Czech: Ríša
  • Dutch: Ries
  • English: Rick, Rich, Richi, Dick, Dickie, Rik, Ric, Dickon
  • Estonian: Riho
  • Esperanto: Rikĉjo
  • Finnish: Riku
  • Greek: Στούκος (Stoúkos)
  • Hungarian: Ricsi, Ricsike, Rics
  • Icelandic: Rikki
  • Latvian: Ričs
  • Lithuanian: Ryčka, Rytis
  • Polish: Rysio, Rysiek, Ryś
  • Portuguese: Rico, Ric
  • Slovak: Rišo, Riško, Riči
  • Spanish: Cayo (Guatemala)

Nicknames

See also

References
  1. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 381. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  2. Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  3. "Richard". Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
  4. M. Petrossian (ed.). New Dictionary Armenian-English. Librairie de Beyrouth. p. 772. Retrieved 23 March 2013.
  5. "Hick". Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
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