Ricketts
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Richard,” with the final -s showing the possessive form.
The #2,801 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,004 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Ricketts is a patronymic surname built from the pet form Rick, short for Richard, plus the possessive -s, giving the sense of “Richard’s son.” Some 19th-century writers also explained it as a later spelling or corruption of Rickards/Ricards, which come from the same personal name. The deeper name Richard is of Germanic origin, traditionally understood as meaning “strong ruler.”
History
The surname is well attested in England by the medieval and early modern period in forms such as Ricket, Ricketts, and Rickson. Dictionary writers of the 19th century repeatedly grouped it with other Richard-derived surnames, and that remains the standard explanation. The name later spread to North America and other English-speaking regions through migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
An old, now-obsolete medical term, rickets, was once popularly linked in folk explanation to a Dr. Ricketts of Newbury, though that story is not the accepted origin of the surname or the disease name.
From the historical record
“RICKETS RICKETTS j Ricket(t)'s (Son). RICKETSON, Ricket's Son. RICKMAN (Teut.) = Rick (q.v.) + man. John fil. Rikeman.— /f«Mrf. Rolls. Cp. Richman.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)