Find out how popular the last name Richmond is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Richmond.

Richmond, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Richmond surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Richmond in America

Richmond is the 934th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Richmond surname appeared 37,053 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Richmond.

We can also compare 2010 data for Richmond to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Richmond

The surname Richmond originated in England, derived from the place name Richmond, which itself is derived from the Old English words "ric" meaning "wealthy" and "mund" meaning "hill" or "defended settlement". The name likely emerged in the 11th century or earlier.

Richmond was a common place name in England, with towns and villages carrying the name found in various counties, including Yorkshire, Surrey, and Shropshire. The most notable location associated with the name is the town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, which gave its name to the Earldom of Richmond.

The Domesday Book, the great survey of England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, records several individuals with the surname Richmond or similar spellings such as Richemont or Richmount. These individuals were likely landowners or tenants in or near places called Richmond.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname Richmond is that of Alan Rufus, also known as Alan of Richmond, who was a Breton noble and one of the companions of William the Conqueror during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. He was granted the Honour of Richmond in Yorkshire and became the first Earl of Richmond.

Another notable figure with the surname Richmond was Edmund of Richmond (c. 1430-1456), who was the son of Owen Tudor and Catherine of Valois, and thus a member of the Tudor dynasty. Edmund was designated as the heir apparent to the House of Lancaster during the Wars of the Roses, but he died before he could claim the throne.

In the 16th century, Henry Fitzroy, Duke of Richmond and Somerset (1519-1536), was an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII and his mistress Elizabeth Blount. He was granted the Dukedom of Richmond and was considered a potential heir to the English throne before his untimely death at the age of 17.

Another notable figure with the Richmond surname was Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond (1672-1723), who was a prominent aristocrat and military leader during the reign of Queen Anne and the early years of the House of Hanover.

Legh Richmond (1772-1827) was an English Anglican priest and writer, best known for his book "The Dairyman's Daughter", a popular religious tract that was widely circulated in the 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Richmond

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Richmond.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Richmond was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Richmond has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Richmond was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Richmond, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!