This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Richman' or Rickman; compare Richard and Rickard. The local Rickmansworth in the diocese of St. Alban's is thus explained. Richman le Savener, with his daughters Alvena, Mabilia, and Matilda, sold soap to the undergraduates of Cambridge in 1373 (A. ii. 382).

John fil. Rikeman, Huntingdonshire, 1273.a.

Richeman fil. John, Huntingdonshire, ibid.

Lucia Richeman, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

William Richeman, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

John Rycheman, Close Rolls, 15 Richard II.

1577. Buried — Lawrence Rickman:

1672-3. John Kirk and Anne Richman: Marriage ai leg. (Canterbury).

(Teutonic) = Rick (q.v.) + man.

John son Rikeman.—Hundred Rolls Cp. Richman.

It has often been stated that an Anglo-Saxon pers. name Rícman is found in the Herts place-name Rickmansworth; but as this place was formerly Richmereswearth and Rykemereswearth, the pers. name involved is, of course, the Anglo-Saxon Rícmǽr = Mightily Famous [Old English ríc-, mighty, rich + mǽre, famous, glorious]

Mr. Ferguson remarks :-"We have Richman and Rickman, corresponding with a Gothic Richman, and an Old High German Ricman, quoted by Meidinger." I demur to the derivation of Richman, which is more likely a corruption of Richmond, the local name; but Rickman is doubtless of high Teutonic antiquity. It was certainly in England in Saxon times, when a Hertfordshire proprietor of this designation gave to his estate the name of Rickman's-Worth. In the Rotuli Hundredorum, Rikemund is found as a heritable name, and there is also one John fil'Rikeman.

The surname Richardson derives from one of the most popular first names in the land. The name Richard was brought to England by the Normans in 1066, and its origins are Germanic. It began life as the name Richard which, in Old German, means ‘powerful-brave’.

Richard was popular right from the start and appears as a first name many times in the Domesday Book, usually Latinised to Ricardus. It was further popularised out of admiration for the valiant efforts of Richard I (known as ‘The Lionheart’). Even the exploits of the next two Richards (especially the notorious hunchbacked Richard III) failed to dim its popularity.

Naturally, Richard soon began to spawn a whole number of diminutives and variations. Dick was one of the first and is still the most common-as is seen in the phrase ‘every Tom, Dick and Harry’. The variation Dick gave rise to the surnames Dickens, Dickenson and Dickson.

Richard, in its standard form, gave rise to the surnames Richard, Richardson and Richards. The surname Richards-‘descendent of, dependent of, Richard’-is most common in Cornwall, South Wales and the Midlands. Richardson, on the other hand, is common all over the country, with the excep­tion of the West Country. The name is most popular in the north.

Other derivatives of the first name Richard (most of which have died out) gave rise to such widespread surnames as Hick, Hitch, Richie, Richey, and Rick (Ricks and Rickson), also Rich (though this is sometimes derived from a nickname), Richett (from the Old French diminutive Richot), and Rickman (which means ‘servant of Richard’). Hud, sometimes a pet name for Richard, is more usually used for Hugh (see Hughes). Hitchmough and Hickmott both mean ‘Richard’s brother-in-law’.

The earliest mention of a form of this name as a surname is in the Hundred Rolls of 1276 for Oxford. There one Thomas Richard is mentioned.

Versatile British physicist and psychologist Lewis Fry Richard­son (1881—1953) first applied mathematical techniques to predict the weather reasonably accurately. He died in Kilmun, Argyllshire, one of the wettest spots on Scotland’s west coast.

I.A. Richards (b. 1893) English literary critic and semantics expert, was co-author of The Meaning of Meaning. Despite the seeming circularity of the title, it is one of the most influential books ever written on the symbolism of language.

Richardson’s Number is the parameter used to predict the occurrence of fluid turbulence.

Richardson and its related names have been held by some of literature’s most lasting figures. Samuel Richardson (1689— 1761) is the founder of the English domestic novel. As a young man he was so proficient as a letter writer that others employed him to compose their correspondence. This led to his first successful book Familiar Letters, a how-to guide to letter composition. Novels, starting with Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded, all in epistolatory form, followed and all were vastly popular. Charles Dickens (1812—78) possibly the best­ loved author of all time, drew on his impoverished childhood to write novels that exposed the hypocrisies and evils of Victorian England. All were first published in monthly instalments.

The phrase ‘a Dickensian childhood’ has since entered the language.

In the United Kingdom one place name relates directly to this surname-Richards Castle. Canada has towns called Richard, Richards Landing and Richardson Station while the United States has 6 related-name towns. Geographic namesakes are common and include mountains in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Richards Deep in the Pacific and Richardsbreen glacier in Norway.

With about 104,000 namesakes Richardson is the 51st most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Richardson is notably popular in and around Teesside where an estimated one in about 245 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Leeds, Nottingham and Bradford are other Richardson strongholds. Around the world Richards and Richardsons are most common in Canberra (one in 461 families), Wellington (one in 507) and Ottawa (one in 527). The United States tallies Richards and Richardsons together-an estimated combined total of 429,000 makes this their 34th most popular surname.