Wish Dad a Happy Father's Day With These Powerful Quotes
All the dads in life — stepfathers, husbands, grandfathers, brothers, friends — should be celebrated on Father's Day. Despite telling them “I love you” now and then, sharing a meaningful message of gratitude and love is always a good idea, as well. If you're having a hard time figuring out what to write in a Father's Day card or how you can best express to Dad what he means to you, get inspired by our list of heartfelt Father's Day quotes.
No matter what kind of relationship you have with your dad, we included a Father's Day quote here that he'll love. Some are sentimental and inspirational and may bring him to tears, while other messages are short, cute, and funny and will instantly make Dad smile (and maybe even chuckle!). These Father's Day quotes and messages derive from famous authors, athletes, poets, actors, and songwriters that he loves, such as Wade Boggs, Keith Urban, and Denzel Washington.
Perfect Father's Day card message aside, these touching sayings and emotional sentiments are great for a sweet text message to Dad or Father’s Day caption on your Instagram or Facebook post celebrating your love for him.
If for some reason you don't find the perfect quote here, make sure to read through our list of father-son quotes and father-daughter quotes next. And don't forget to top off your celebration with a unique Father's Day gift that he'll appreciate. After all, Dad deserves the very best.
Cormac McCarthy, 'The Road'
“You have my whole heart. You always did. You’re the best guy. You always were.”
Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus, “Butterfly Fly Away”
“You tucked me in, turned out the lights, kept me safe and sound at night. Little girls depend on things like that.”
Walter M. Schirra Sr.
"You don't raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they'll turn out to be heroes, even if it's just in your own eyes."
Amit Ray, 'World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird'
“There is no teacher equal to mother, and there's nothing more contagious than the dignity of a father.”
Hugh Jackman
“Becoming a father, I think it inevitably changes your perspective of life.”
George Strait, “Love Without End, Amen”
“You see, daddies don’t just love their children every now and then, it’s a love without end. Amen.”
John Mark Green
“A father’s love still travels on after he’s gone. A treasure hidden in the hearts of his children.”
Paul Walker
“I think my mom put it best. She said, ‘Little girls soften their daddy’s hearts.’”
Morgan Matson, 'Second Chance Summer'
“‘Daddy,’ I whispered, feeling my own breath hitch in my throat. ‘I love you.’ Just when I was sure he was asleep, the one corner of his mouth lifted in a smile. ‘I knew that,’ he murmured. ‘Always knew that.’”
Lydia Maria Child
“Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father.”
Hasil Paudyal
“When I was small, I felt like a superhero as my father threw me up in the air. Now after reaching this success peak, I unmask — real superhero made me superhero!”
Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr.
“There's something beautiful about a mother’s embrace. And there's something magical about a father’s affirmations.”
Emile Gaboriau
“A father is the one friend upon whom we can always rely.”
John Green
“The nature of impending fatherhood is that you are doing something that you’re unqualified to do, and then you become qualified while doing it.”
Anne Geddes
“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.”
Unknown
“Dads teach us lots of things, but the real lesson is always love.”
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Unknown
“Only the best dads let their children fly. Only the most loved children will soar. Thank you for giving me wings.”
Richelle E. Goodrich, 'Slaying Dragons'
“The best fathers have the softest, sweetest hearts. In other words, great dads are real marshmallows.”
Roland Warren
"Good fathers do three things: they provide, they nurture, and they guide."
Unknown
“Dear Daddy, no matter where I go in life, you'll always be my number one man.”
Ziauddin Yousafzai, 'Let Her Fly'
“I began to see that he was flawed. We are all flawed, but it is a powerful moment when you realize that about your parents. Still, I loved him no less for it. I know I have flaws, and my children are free to realize this and make their own corrections.”
Michael Ratnadeepak
“No one in this world can love a girl more than her father.”
Scott Eastwood
"My father taught me not to overthink things, that nothing will ever be perfect, so just keep moving, and do your best.”
John Sinor
“It is admirable for a man to take his son fishing, but there is a special place in heaven for the father who takes his daughter shopping."
George Saunders
“He was a father. That's what a father does. Eases the burdens of those he loves."
Ted Kennedy Jr.
“You see, my father taught me that even our most profound losses are survivable. And that is — it is what we do with that loss — our ability to transform it into a positive event — that is one of my father's greatest lessons. He taught me that nothing is impossible.”
Justin Ricklefs
“The power of a dad in a child’s life is unmatched.”
Fanny Fern
“To her, the name of father was another name for love.”
Erika Cosby
“Fathers just have a way of putting everything together.”
Thomas J. Langley
“When you need real understanding, when you need someone to care, when you need someone to guide you … A father’s always there.”
David Beckham
“In my career, there's many things I've won and many things I've achieved, but for me, my greatest achievement is my children and my family. It's about being a good father, a good husband, just being connected to family as much as possible.”
Liev Schreiber
“I love my mother and father. The older I get, the more I value everything that they gave me.”
Dawn French
“It was my father who taught me to value myself. He told me that I was uncommonly beautiful and that I was the most precious thing in his life.”
Beau Bridges
“My father was my teacher. But most importantly, he was a great dad.”
Dan Rather
“The great lesson my mother and father gave me was almost invisible. It was a strong sense of being rooted.”
Calvin Johnson
“I hope I can be as good of a father to my son as my dad was to me.”
Harper Lee, 'Go Set a Watchman'
“She did not stand alone, but what stood behind her, the most potent moral force in her life, was the love of her father.”
Dimitri The Stoneheart
"A father doesn't tell you that he loves you. He shows you."
Leo Buscaglia
"If there is any immortality to be had among us human beings, it is certainly only in the love that we leave behind. Fathers like mine don't ever die."
Abraham Lincoln
"No man stands taller than when he stoops to help a child."
George R.R. Martin, 'A Clash of Kings'
“There’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.”
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Harmon Killebrew
"My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, 'You're tearing up the grass.' 'We're not raising grass,' Dad would reply. 'We're raising boys.'"
Charles Kettering
"Every father should remember, one day, his son will follow his example, not his advice."
David Jeremiah
"A girl's father is the first man in her life, and probably the most influential."
Cher Lloyd
"My dad's my best mate, and he always will be."
Liza Minnelli
"I've said it before, but it's absolutely true: My mother gave me my drive, but my father gave me my dreams. Thanks to him, I could see a future."
Linda Poindexter
"When my father didn't have my hand, he had my back."
C.S. Lewis
"An almost perfect relationship with his father was the earthly root of all wisdom."
Margaret Truman
"It's only when you grow up and step back from him — or leave him for your own home — it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it."
Frank A. Clark
"A father is a man who expects his son to be as good a man as he meant to be."
Unknown
"A father is someone you look up to, no matter how tall you grow."
Charles Wadsworth
"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong."
Dan Zevin
"Lately, all my friends are worried they're turning into their fathers. I'm worried I'm not."
Steve Martin
"A father carries pictures where his money used to be."
Tom Wolfe
"He adopted a role called 'Being a Father' so that his child would have something mythical and infinitely important: a protector."
Antoine-François Prévost
'The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature."
Gloria Naylor
"Old as she was, she still missed her Daddy sometimes."
Ruth E. Renkel
"Sometimes, the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance."
Terri Guillemets
"I love my father as the stars — he's a bright shining example and a happy twinkling in my heart."
Marinela Reka
"Being a daddy's girl is like having permanent armor for the rest of your life."
Euripides
"To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter."
Unknown
"The only thing better than having you for a husband is our children having you for a dad."
Wade Boggs
"Anyone can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad, and that's why I call you dad because you are so special to me. You taught me the game, and you taught me how to play it right."
Reed Markham
"The quality of a father can be seen in the goals, dreams, and aspirations he sets not only for himself, but for his family."
Clarence Budington Kelland
"My father didn't tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it."
Hedy Lamarr
"I am not ashamed to say that no man I ever met was my father's equal, and I never loved any other man as much."
Jim Valvano
"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person: He believed in me."
Umberto Eco, 'Foucault's Pendulum'
"I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by the little scraps of wisdom."
Pam Brown
"Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song."
Johann Friedrich von Schiller
"It is not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."
Unknown
"Some people don't believe in heroes, but they haven't met my dad."
Unknown
"To the world, you are a dad. To our family, you are the world."
Denzel Washington
"The strongest, toughest men all have compassion. They're not heartless and cold. You have to be man enough to have compassion — to care about people and about your children."
Barack Obama
"Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father."
Chris Pratt
"I've jumped out of helicopters and done some daring stunts and played baseball in a professional stadium, but none of it means anything compared to being somebody's daddy."
Anne Sexton
"It doesn't matter who my father was; it matters who I remember he was."
Susan Gale
“A father’s smile has been known to light up a child’s entire day.”
Ryan Gosling
"When you meet your kids, you realize that they deserve great parents. And then you have your marching orders, and you have to try and become the person that they deserve."
Wendell Phillips
"To be as good as our fathers, we must be better — imitation is not discipleship."
Sigmund Freud
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection."
Keith Urban, "Song for Dad"
"And I only hope, when I have my own family, that everyday I see a little more of my father in me."
Chelsea Clinton
“[My father] has always provided me a safe place to land and a hard place from which to launch.”
Lydia Maria Child
“No music is so pleasant to my ears as that word — father.”
Dan Pearce
“The greatest mark of a father is how he treats his children when no one is looking.”
William Shakespeare
“It is a wise father that knows his own child.”
Harry Chapin, “Cats in the Cradle”
“And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew, he'd say ‘I'm gonna be like you, dad. You know I'm gonna be like you.’"
Ama H. Vanniarachchy
“A father’s tears and fears are unseen, his love is unexpressed, but his care and protection remains as a pillar of strength throughout our lives.”
Unknown
“A father is neither an anchor to hold us back, nor a sail to take us there, but a guiding light whose love shows us the way.”
Max Lucado
“My father didn’t do anything unusual. He only did what dads are supposed to do — be there.”
Alison Lohman
“There will always be a few people who have the courage to love what is untamed inside us. One of those men is my father.”
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