For Richards, start with 理 Lǐ, the first character of the documented transcription 理查兹 Lǐcházī, traditionally 理查茲. 理 is also an independently recorded Chinese surname under Lǐ. If you like that sound but prefer a different character, compare 李 Lǐ. Keeping the whole transcription remains the better option when the main purpose is to identify your existing surname clearly.
I would begin with 理 because the written link is easy to explain. Choosing 李 is equally a real surname choice, but it changes the character. It does not make the pronunciation closer, and neither one-syllable form preserves everything that makes Richards different from Richard or Richardson.
Begin with the actual surname
The National Academy for Educational Research's English surname table lists Richards—理查茲. Its next page separately lists Richardson with a different ending. The distinction matters: Richards should not quietly acquire Richardson's 森, and Richardson should not lose its own ending just because both names offer 理 as an opening.
A Chinese transcription you already use in a professional or family setting deserves consideration. The reference establishes a usable form; it does not cancel other established personal spellings. If you choose a short Chinese surname, keep Richards in Latin letters where colleagues, clients or records need to connect both names reliably.
Nor does shortening 理查兹 require turning 查兹 into your Chinese given name. You can choose a given name separately. The full transcription represents the original family name as a whole; it was not designed as a Chinese surname–given-name combination.
理 Lǐ: keeping the visible opening
The dictionary entry for 理 explicitly records surname use under lǐ. That evidence is independent of the transcription table. We therefore have two different supports: one for the spelling of Richards, and one for 理 functioning as a Chinese family name.
理 has ordinary associations with reason, order and arranging things. You may enjoy them, but they are not a translation of Richards or a statement about your personality. The clearest explanation is simply that you kept the first character of 理查兹.
You can introduce it as 我姓理，道理的理。 “My surname is Lǐ, the 理 in 道理.” Say the tone and show the character when first introducing yourself. Someone who has only heard Lǐ may write 李; that is a normal ambiguity between different surnames sharing a sound, not evidence that your chosen character is wrong.
李 Lǐ: same sound, a different surname
李 is independently recorded as a surname pronounced Lǐ, also with the third tone. In standard Mandarin, 理 and 李 have the same spoken form. Neither character changes between simplified and traditional writing, and neither is a simplified version of the other.
Choosing 李 may suit a particular full-name combination or a personal preference for its written form. Its ordinary plum-tree association is available as a personal image, but it is not Richards's historical meaning. You do not need a story about a Chinese 李 ancestor to use it as a chosen name.
The introduction 我姓李，木子李。 identifies its visible components. Compare how you feel saying that with the explanation for 理. If maintaining an obvious link to the transcription matters most, 理 has the advantage. If you genuinely prefer 李 in the full name, accept that you have made a new character choice while retaining the Mandarin sound.
What one syllable leaves behind
Collins gives the British reference /ˈrɪtʃədz/, normally two syllables with initial stress. Family and regional pronunciations can vary. Lǐ changes the initial English r to Mandarin l and changes the vowel; it then discards the ch sound and the rest of the surname, including the final consonant sequence.
The full Lǐ-chá-zī uses three Mandarin syllables to adapt the English sounds. Choosing Lǐ shortens that adaptation again. A Mandarin third tone does not reproduce English stress, and the i of Lǐ is not an exact copy of the English vowel in the cited pronunciation.
This is why 李 cannot be advertised as a better sound match merely because more readers recognize the character. Spoken recognition of Richards needs the original name or fuller transcription. The one-character choice serves a different practical purpose: a compact surname in a Chinese personal name.
Meaning and cultural routes remain optional
The surname dictionary describes English Richards as a form of Richard with a genitival or later added -s. It is unsafe to replace that specific explanation with “son of Richard” in every case, or to borrow Richardson's exact account. A dictionary describes naming histories; it does not establish your family's genealogy.
There is no convincing reason here to translate the ending into a Chinese kinship word. The reason/order associations of 理 and the plum association of 李 belong to the Chinese choices themselves. If a personal cultural reference matters to you, let it guide the given name or a further considered surname choice; no particular ancient figure or shared ancestry has been established by these sources.
My practical shortlist is therefore deliberately short: 理 for the visible transcription link; 李 for the same Mandarin sound with a different character. Try each with your intended given name, in surname-first order, and check unintended words and ease of introduction. This is a surname comparison, not an individual full-name or legal-registration assessment.
Sources & Methodological Notes
NAER English surname table, PDF p24 / printed p13: Richards—理查茲; the separate Richardson entry is on PDF p25. Collins Richards supplies the British reference pronunciation. Phonetic comparisons above are editorial analysis, without an audio experiment.
理 and 李 explicitly record surname use and the reading lǐ. These entries support the candidates, not a universal survey of Chinese surnames. DAFN, 2nd ed. 2022, Richards supports the limited surname-history statement.
Observed 4 October 2026: British Surnames, website position 72, no count. Its stated scope is Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales, excluding Northern Ireland. Reference year, unit and method remain unknown; this is not an official current UK population rank. Shared 理/李 evidence does not merge the original surnames; ending, transcription and history differ.
