The Germanic first or given name Richard derives from German, French, and English
"ric" and "hard", and it therefore means "powerful leader". Nicknames include
"Dick", "Dickie", "Rich", "Richie", "Rick", "Ricky", and others.
"Richard" is a common name in many Germanic languages, including English,
German, Norwegian, Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Dutch.
People named Richard = Rulers and aristocrats=
Richard, Duke of Burgundy Richard I, Duke of Normandy
Richard II, Duke of Normandy, son of Richard I of Normandy
Richard I of Capua, King of Capua and Count of Aversa
Richard fitz Gilbert, Norman lord involved in the conquest of England
Richard I of England or Richard the Lionheart
Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, elected King of Germany
Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster
Richard Orsini, Count palatine of Cephalonia and Zakynthos, Count of
Gravina, Bailli of Achaea Richard FitzAlan, 10th Earl of Arundel,
English military leader Richard FitzAlan, 11th Earl of Arundel,
English military commander Richard II of England
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, Yorkist leader in the Wars of the Roses
Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York, a principal participant in the Wars of the
Roses Richard Neville, 16th Earl of Warwick,
wealthy English magnate and major protagonist in the Wars of the Roses
Richard III of England Richard of Shrewsbury, 1st Duke of York,
who would have been Richard IV of England if he had lived
Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and a
cavalier Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh,
Irish peer, and politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland
Richard Savage, 4th Earl Rivers, soldier and noted rake
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, instrumental in the revival of Palladian
architecture Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl
Temple, British politician and associate and brother-in-law of William Pitt
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville,
2nd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, noted for squandering his great wealth
Richard Temple-Nugent-Brydges-Chandos-Grenville,
3rd Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, British soldier, politician and
administrator Richard Wellesley, 1st Marquess
Wellesley, Anglo-Irish Governor-General of India, Foreign Secretary in the
British Cabinet and Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, brother of the 1st Duke of
Wellington = In politics and government=
Richard Acland, one of the founders of the British Common Wealth Party and the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament Richard Keith "Dick" Armey, American
politician, former member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's
26th congressional district. Richard "Dick" Cheney, Vice President of
the United States under George W. Bush Richard Clarence "Dick" Clark, former
Senator from Iowa Richard Court, Australian politician,
former Premier of Western Australia Richard Cromwell, son of Oliver
Cromwell, and his successor as Lord Protector of England
Richard J. Daley, mayor of Chicago Richard M. Daley, American former state
senator and mayor of Chicago, son of Richard J. Daley
Richard Hatfield, Canadian politician, Premier of New Brunswick
Richard Johnson, President of the Irish High Court
Richard Mentor Johnson, Ninth Vice President of the United States, serving
in the administration of Martin Van Buren.
Richard "Dick" Lugar, former Senator from Indiana
Richard Nixon, only President of the United States to resign from office
Richard Rush, United States Attorney General and Secretary of the Treasury
Richard Stockton United States Senator from New Jersey
= Business people= Richard L. Bloch, American investor,
real estate developer, banker, and philanthropist.
Richard Branson, British businessman and founder of the Virgin Group of companies
Richard DeVos, American businessman and co-founder of Amway
Richard Jacobs, real estate businessman and owner of the Cleveland Indians
baseball team Richard Rawlings, star of American
television show Fast N' Loud, owner of Gas Monkey garage, Gas Monkey Bar N'
Grill and Gas Monkey Live Richard Velazquez, PepsiCo Executive and
first automotive designer at Porsche AG of Puerto Rican descent
Richard Warren Sears, co-founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and
considered a promotional genius = Religious figures=
Saint Richard Richard Baxter English Puritan church
leader, poet, hymn-writer. Richard of Dover, Benedictine monk and
Archbishop of Canterbury Richard Foxe, Bishop of Exeter, Bath and
Wells, Durham, and Winchester, Lord Privy Seal, and founder of Corpus
Christi College, Oxford = In music=
Composers Richard D. James, British composer and
electronic musician, records music as Aphex Twin, among other monikers.
Richard Strauss, German composer and conductor
Richard Wagner, German composer, writer, conductor and theatre director
Singers and musicians Richard "Big Daddy Ritch" Anderson, lead
vocalist for American red dirt metal band Texas Hippie Coalition
Richard Ashcroft, former singer with The Verve
Richard Butler, lead singer of the Psychedelic Furs
Richard Carpenter, one half of The Carpenters
Richard Henshall, main composer, guitarist and keyboardist of Haken
Richard Manuel, pianist and vocalist of The Band
Richard Wayne Penniman, known as "Little Richard", American Rock and Roll singer
Ringo Starr, real name Richard Starkey, drummer of The Beatles
Richard Wright, keyboard player for Pink Floyd
= Actors= Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
Richard Armitage, English actor Richard Attenborough, English actor,
director, producer and entrepreneur Richard Ayoade, English comedian, actor,
writer and director Richard Belzer, American actor, author,
and stand-up comedian Richard Burbage, English actor and
theatre owner Richard Burton, Welsh actor
Richard Alva "Dick" Cavett,, American television talk show host
Richard Chamberlain, American actor Richard Wagstaff "Dick" Clark was an
American radio and television personality
Richard Curtis, British screenwriter, music producer, actor and film director.
One of Britain's most successful comedy screenwriters
Richard Dreyfuss, American actor Richard Gere, American actor
Richard Harris, Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer,
film director and writer Richard Jaeckel, American actor
Richard Kind, American actor Richard Madden, Scottish actor
Richard Anthony "Cheech" Marin, American actor and comedian, known for the comedy
duo Cheech & Chong Richard Pryor an American stand-up
comedian and actor Richard Roundtree, American actor
Peter Sellers Born Richard Henry Sellers, British actor
Richard Schulefand, American actor and comedian professionally known as "Dick
Shawn" Richard Simmons, American actor
Richard Simmons, American fitness personality and actor
Richard Speight, Jr. American actor Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an
American actor, comedian, writer, and producer
= Explorers= Richard R. Arnold, American astronaut
Richard Francis Burton, British geographer, explorer, translator,
writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy,
linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat Richard E. Byrd, U.S. Navy rear admiral,
aviator and explorer Richard Masters, English sailor, cooper,
trader and explorer Richard "Dick" Rutkowski, diving
medicine pioneer = Military figures=
Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, British naval commander in the American War of
Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars
Richard Taylor, American Civil War Confederate general
Richard "Dick" Marcinko, U.S. Navy SEAL commander and Vietnam War veteran
Richard Udugama, 6th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
= In sports= Richard "Dick" Attlesey, American
hurdler Richard "Dick" Ault, American Olympian
Richard "Rink" Babka, American discus thrower
Richard "Dick" Barber, American long jumper
Richard Chelimo, Kenyan long-distance runner
Richard "Dick" Davis, American football player
Richard "Dick" Fencl, American football player
Richard Freitag, German ski jumper Richard Gasquet, French tennis player
Rich Houston, American football player Richard "Dick" Johnson, Australian
touring car driver & team owner Richard Jordan, American football player
Richard Kilty, English sprinter Richard Kingi, Australian-New Zealand
Rugby Union player Richard Krajicek, Dutch professional
tennis player, Wimbledon winner in 1996 Rick Lackman, American football player
Richard Limo, Kenyan long-distance runner
Richard Mateelong, Kenyan runner Richard Medlin, American football player
Richard Nerurkar, British long-distance runner
Richard Newland, English cricketer Richard Petty, former NASCAR driver
Richard Sears, winner of seven consecutive U.S. tennis championships
Richard Sherman, Defensive back for the Seattle Seahawks
Rich Stotter, American football player Richard Swann, American professional
wrestler Richard "Dick" Tayler, New Zealand
long-distance runner Richard Thompson, Trinidadian sprinter
Richard Todd, American football player in the NFL
Richard Witschge, Dutch footballer who played as midfielder
= Scientists= Richard Dawkins, English ethologist,
evolutionary biologist and author Richard Feynman, American Nobel
Prize-winning physicist Richard D. James, American mechanician
and materials scientist Richard Leakey, politician,
paleoanthropologist and conservationist = Other=
Richard Assman, Canadian gas station owner who became famous as "Dick Assman"
Richard Garriott, video game developer and entrepreneur
Richard Hwan, Hongkong model-TV host based in the Philippines
Richard Matt, American convicted murderer and prison escapee
Richard Maury, American naturalized Argentine engineer
Richard Sorge, Soviet military intelligence officer
Richard von Hegener, primary organizer of Action T4 Nazi euthanasia program
Cognates/transliterations = In Altaic languages=
Azerbaijani: Riçard Japanese: リチャード
Korean: 리처드 Turkish: Reşad, Reşat, Rişar
= In Indo-European languages= Germanic
Afrikaans: Riekert, Ryk Dutch: Rijkert, Rikkert, Richard, Rick
Icelandic: Ríkharð, Ríkharður Low German: Ri(c)kert, Richard
Scandinavian: Rickard, Richard, Rikard, Ríkarður
Latin Catalan and Occitan: Ricard
French: Richard, pronounced as "rishard" Italian: Riccardo
Latin: Richardus Portuguese: Ricardo
Spanish: Ricardo Celtic
Breton: Richarzh Cornish: Richard
Irish: Risteárd, Riocard Scottish Gaelic: Ruiseart
Welsh: Rhisiart Slavic
Croatian: Rikard Czech: Richard
Polish: Ryszard Russian: Ричард
Slovene: Rihard Ukrainian: Річард
Other Armenian: Հռիքարտոս
Esperanto: Rikardo Greek: Ριχάρδος
Latvian: Ričards, Rihards Lithuanian: Ričardas
Persian: ریچارد = In Afroasiatic languages=
Arabic: ريتشارد Hebrew: ריצ'רד
= In Uralic languages= Finnish: Rikhard
Hungarian: Richárd Saami: Rikkar
= In Other languages= Basque: Rikard
Chinese: 理查德 Short forms
Cornish: Hicca Czech: Ríša
Dutch: Ries English: Rick, Rich, Dick, Dickie, Rik,
Ric Estonian: Riho
Esperanto: Rikĉjo Finnish: Riku
Hungarian: Ricsi, Ricsike, Rics Icelandic: Rikki
Latvian: Rič Lithuanian: Ryčka
Polish: Rysio, Rysiek, Ryś Portuguese: Rico, Ric
Slovak: Rišo, Riško, Riči Spanish: Cayo
Greek: Στούκος Pet forms
English: Ricky, Rickie, Rikki, Richie, Richi, Richy, Rich, Hick, Dick, Dickie,
Ritchie, Dickon References
Meaning of Richard Meaning of Richard
See also Richarda
Richardis