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Richardson Family History

Richardson Surname Meaning

English: patronymic from the Middle English personal name Richard + -son. This surname is also very common among African Americans. Compare Ritson.

Americanized form (and a Swedish variant) of Swedish Richardsson or Rikardsson: patronymic from the personal name Richard Rikard.

Americanized form of Norwegian and Danish Richardsen or Norwegian Rikardsen cognates of 2 above.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022


Similar surnames: 

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Where is the Richardson family from?

You can see how Richardson families moved over time by selecting different census years. The Richardson family name was found in the USA, the UK, Canada, and Scotland between 1840 and 1920. The most Richardson families were found in USA in 1880. In 1911 there were 3,075 Richardson families living in Ontario. This was about 53% of all the recorded Richardson's in Canada. Ontario had the highest population of Richardson families in 1911.
Use census records and voter lists to see where families with the Richardson surname lived. Within census records, you can often find information like name of household members, ages, birthplaces, residences, and occupations.
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What did your Richardson ancestors do for a living?

In 1921, Farmer and Housekeeper were the top reported jobs for men and women in the Canada named Richardson. 31% of Richardson men worked as a Farmer and 15% of Richardson women worked as a Housekeeper. Some less common occupations for Americans named Richardson were Carpenter and Clerk.

View Census Data for Richardson | Data not to scale

*We display top occupations by gender to maintain their historical accuracy during times when men and women often performed different jobs.

Top Male Occupations In 1921

  • Farmer
    31%
  • Labourer
    7%
  • Laborer
    6%
  • Carpenter
    4%

Top Female Occupations In 1921

  • Housekeeper
    15%
  • Income
    9%
  • Stenographer
    9%
  • Clerk
    8%

What Richardson family records will you find?

Census Records

There are 1 million census records available for the last name Richardson. Like a window into their day-to-day life, Richardson census records can tell you where and how your ancestors worked, their level of education, veteran status, and more.

Search Canadian census records for Richardson

Passenger Lists

There are 232,000 immigration records available for the last name Richardson. Passenger lists are your ticket to knowing when your ancestors arrived in Canada, and how they made the journey - from the ship name to ports of arrival and departure.

View all Richardson immigration records

Draft Cards

There are 277,000 military records available for the last name Richardson. For the veterans among your Richardson ancestors, military collections provide insights into where and when they served, and even physical descriptions.

View all Richardson military records

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