Richard


Richard is a masculine given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish 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 is 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 Portuguese and Spanish "Ricardo" and the Italian "Riccardo".

People named Richard

Multiple people with the same name

Rulers and heads of state

Aristocrats and non-ruling royals

Religious figures

In politics and government

In business

In music

Composers

Singers and musicians

Actors

In film and television

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, US Navy rear admiral, aviator and explorer
  • Richard Masters, English sailor, cooper, trader and explorer
  • Dick Rutkowski, American diving medicine pioneer

Scientists

In sports

Soldiers, pilots, other military/security

Writers and journalists

Crime

Other

Fictional characters

  • Richard, title character of the 2017 animated film Richard the Stork
  • Richard, a character in 1989 American independent coming of age comedy movie She's Out of Control
  • Richard, a character in the 2013 American black comedy crime film Life of Crime
  • Richard, a character in the TV series Peg + Cat
  • Richard, a character in the TV series Unikitty!
  • Richard Ashenden, main character in the 1936 Hitchcock film Secret Agent (1936 film)
  • Richard Blaine, main character in the 1942 film Casablanca
  • Richard Blaney, main character in the film Frenzy
  • Richard Burke, recurring character in NBC show Friends, played by Tom Selleck
  • Richard Cobb, one of the main characters in the 1940 American horror science fiction film The Invisible Man Returns
  • Richard Cole, a character in the film Liar Liar
  • Richard Cole, a journalist in The Power Of Five Series, and Matthew Freeman's best friend and protector
  • Dick Dastardly, a character from various Hanna-Barbera cartoons
  • Rick Deckard, the title character in the film Blade Runner
  • Richard Diamond, private detective protagonist of Richard Diamond, Private Detective, which aired on radio from 1949 to 1953, and on television from 1957 to 1960
  • Richard Fenton, in the 1994 miniseries, Scarlett (miniseries)
  • Richard John "Dick" Grayson, the first Robin, Batman's sidekick
  • Richard Hannay, main character in the novel The Thirty Nine Steps
  • Richard Hillman, serial killer in the British soap opera Coronation Street
  • Richard Kimble, lead character in 1963 American TV series The Fugitive
  • Dr. Richard Kimble, as the main character played by Harrison Ford in the 1993 American action thriller movie The Fugitive
  • Richard Kneeland, a character in the movie 13 Going on 30
  • Richard Mayhew, main character in the television series Neverwhere
  • Richard Michaels, a character in the 1989 American science-fiction drama movie Beyond the Stars
  • Richard Rank, a character in the 1997 American science fiction drama movie Contact
  • Rich (character), main character of the Richie Rich series
  • Richard Richard, one of the protagonists of British sitcom Bottom
  • Richie Ryan (Highlander), one of the main characters on Highlander: The Series, played by Stan Kirsch
  • Richard "Rick" Sanchez, main character on Rick and Morty
  • Richard Sharpe, main character in the Sharpe novel series, portrayed by Sean Bean in TV adaptations
  • Richard Splett, a character in Veep, portrayed by Sam Richardson
  • Richard Bluedhorn "Rick" or "Ricky" Stratton, the main character in the American TV sitcom Silver Spoons
  • Richard "Richie" Tozier, one of the protagonists in 1986 novel It
  • Richard Vincent, in the 2001 miniseries The SoulTaker, the father of the title character
  • Richard Watterson, a character from the 2011 TV series The Amazing World of Gumball
  • Richard Wharfinger, fictional playwright of "The Courier's Tale" in Thomas Pynchon's The Crying of Lot 49
  • Richard Wheatley, a villain from the TV series Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
  • Prince Richard, a character in the 1992 Nintendo Game Boy game Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
  • Richard Ranasinghe de Vulpian, née Claremont, the titular character of ''The Case Files of Jeweler Richard''

Cognates/transliterations

In Indo-European languages

Baltic

Celtic

Germanic

Romance

Slavic

Other Indo-European

In Semitic languages

In Cushitic languages

In Malayo-Polynesian languages

In Turkic languages

In Uralic languages

In other languages

Short forms

  • Cornish: Hicca
  • Czech: Ríša, Rik
  • Dutch: Ries
  • English: Rick, Rich, Richie, Dick, Dicky, Dickie, Ric, Rik, Ricky, Rickie, Dickon, Richy, Ritchy, Ritchie
  • Estonian: Riho
  • Esperanto: Rikĉjo
  • Finnish: Riku
  • Greek: Στούκος
  • Hungarian: Ricsi, Ricsike, Rics
  • Icelandic: Rikki
  • Italian: Ricky, Riki, Richi
  • Latvian: Ričs
  • Lithuanian: Ryčka, Rytis
  • Polish: Rysio, Rysiek, Ryś
  • Portuguese: Rico, Ric
  • Romanian: Richi
  • Slovak: Rišo, Riško, Riči
  • Spanish: Cayo
  • Swiss/German: Richi

Nicknames