Richardson

Richardson is an English-origin surname meaning “son of Richard.” The given name Richard derives from the Old High German form Rihard, from elements meaning “ruler” or “power” and “brave” or “strong.” The surname arose as a patronymic in medieval England and spread with migration to other English-speaking regions.

The name is common in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and the United States, and it has given rise to place names and institutions. In the United States, Richardson, Texas, is a city in the Dallas–Fort Worth area named after early settlers; other localities and neighborhoods bear the name as well.

In science and mathematics, the surname appears in several eponymous concepts. The Richardson number, used in fluid dynamics and geophysical flows, is named for Lewis Fry Richardson, a British meteorologist and mathematician who helped pioneer numerical weather prediction. Richardson extrapolation is a technique for accelerating the convergence of a sequence or numerical approximation, also attributed to him.

Notable individuals with the surname span politics, sports, the arts, and academia, reflecting its broad distribution across English-speaking regions. As a surname, Richardson remains common in contemporary naming of people, places, and institutions, contributing to its continued presence in various cultural and geographic contexts.