The Richards surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 125,653 people carried this name — #215 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,150 people counted.
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In Switzerland’s population statistics
168 people named Richards live in Switzerland.
They live in 15 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 130 people named Richards.
Most of them — 87 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 12 départements, most often Guadeloupe.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Poland’s population register
50 people named Richards have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 154 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 12 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Masovian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 22 people named Richards live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Antwerp.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Richards in American newspapers,
1887–1949.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 940,792 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Richards,
with a public archive behind them.
-
John Inigo Richards 1731–1810 · artist -
David Richards 1751–1827 · teacher -
Peter Richards 1787–1869 · naval officer -
Levi Richards 1799–1876 · missionary -
George Henry Richards 1820–1896 · cartographer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 210 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Richards.
- Ricco 1,246 · U.S. census
- Riccobono 613 · U.S. census
- Rice 146,440 · U.S. census
- Rich 47,477 · U.S. census
- Richard 52,138 · U.S. census
- Richardet 149 · U.S. census
- Richardson 249,533 · U.S. census
- Richart 1,241 · U.S. census
- Richarte 213 · U.S. census
- Riche 1,421 · U.S. census
- Richel 339 · U.S. census
- Richen 106 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Richards is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.