Richmond
A surname taken from places called Richmond, especially the Yorkshire town and the Norman Richemont, meaning roughly “rich” or “strong” hill or mount.
The #934 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 8,333 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is mainly locational, from the place-name Richmond in Yorkshire and, in some cases, the Norman Richemont. The older analysis in the sources breaks the name into a word for “rich” or “mighty” and a word for “mount” or hill, giving a sense such as “splendid hill” or “strong mount.” The modern place-name Richmond in Surrey is a later renaming of West Sheen, so the surname is not generally derived from that Surrey place.
History
The name is well established in medieval records, including a 1379 Yorkshire Poll Tax form. It spread from northern England into Scotland and elsewhere, helped by the prominence of the earldom of Richmond and its associated families. Some bearers may also descend from Norman place-names or from later adoption of the surname from the Yorkshire locality.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Henry VII renamed West Sheen as Richmond in honor of his own title, but that Surrey place is not the original source of the surname.
From the historical record
“Confused with Richmond, q.v. RICHMOND (Fr.-Teut. + Lat.) Bel. to Rich- mond (Yorks), also Richemont (Normandy) = the Splendid or Mighty (Castle-) Mount [Fr.nc^.O.H.Ger.^fPi (M.H.Ger. riche, mod. retch) + 7r. mont, Lat. mans, mont-is] Johannes de Richemond. — Yorks Poll-Tax, A.D. 1379. Richmond, Surrey, still…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)