Richardson Origins
The four
generally accepted origins of surnames are:
- as nicknames
- as names describing a location (where one lived)
- and as occupations or trade names.
The
Scandinavian-type affix son provided one early form of family
patronym,
particularly in the north of England. Alternatively, the suffix
s was
used, the s denoting the genitive or of.
Richard
(meaning powerful and brave) was a favorite amongst the Normans and
from this
source came Richards and Richardson.
However, these names do seem to have developed separately in
different
parts of the country. The Richards name was and is
mainly to be found in the west
and southwest; Richardson, by contrast, in the northeast and in
Scotland.
Early variants of the Richardson name included Richerson,
Richarson, Richeson, and Ritcherson. Scribes recorded the name
phonetically, as it sounded. Hence, it wasn't unlikely that a
person
would be born with one spelling, married under another, and buried
under
another.
Locational Origins
There are no places anywhere in Britain with the name Richardson, apart from an archaeological site in Wiltshire which was presumably named for someone with the surname Richardson.
A number of records suggest that the name Richardson originated in the county of Cheshire. A younger son of a Norman family there, John, was said to have taken the paternal name of Richardson when he moved across the Pennines to Durham sometime around 1400. A Nicholas Richardson, possibly a descendant, started a family wool business in Yorkshire in 1484 (according to the earliest Bierley deed records)