Richards

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A common English forename or family name borne by many notable people throughout history
2. A personal name or surname widely used in English-speaking countries and found across many historical records
3. A given name or last name of English origin frequently encountered among individuals and families

Etymology: "Richards" is the plural of "Richard," so its history is essentially that of the given name. The name is Germanic, built from "rīc" meaning "powerful" or "ruler" and "hard" meaning "hardy" or "brave." It passed into Medieval Latin as "Richardus," then into Old French as "Richard," and reached English as "Rychard" in the Middle Ages. The "-s" is simply the ordinary English plural ending, inherited from Old English, so "Richards" means more than one Richard, or a family of that name. Surnames such as Richards arose from this usage, as with many other first names that became family names in medieval England.