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Originally Posted by Sailor Steve
What is not common knowledge is the beginnings of the name. The great statesman Benjamin Franklin was America's ambassador to France, and he was also John Paul Jones's sponsor, which means he raised the money to buy Jones a ship to fight with. One of the many things Franklin was famous for was his 'Poor Richard's Almanac', a yearly book full of information for farmers and pithy, wise and humorous sayings. There was no direct translation of 'Poor Richard', so when Jones named his ship for Franklin the best he could do was 'Goodman Richard', or Bonhomme Richard.
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Poor Richard translate to "Pauvre Richard". Bonhomme is, well, either a cartoon character or "That guy"... But I suppose the meaning could have changed in the interval.