70+ Father Quotes for the Dads in Your Life

Amongst the many strong and inspiring men out there in the world, no one can replace the one closest to our hearts: our dads. Our fathers are the pillars of our families. They protect us, cheer us on, and support us as we find our footing in this rather cold, harsh world.

If you’re looking for a way to really show some love to your dad this Father’s Day, we’ve come up with an extensive list of father quotes that will hit the mark.

Jump to a specific category: 

• Quotes About a Father's Love
• Inspirational Father Quotes
• Soon-to-Be Dad Quotes
• Quotes About Missing Your Father
• Funny Dad Quotes

Let's jump in.

[#TOC1]Quotes About a Father’s Love[#TOC1]

A father’s love for his children is eternal. Your father saying that he loves you may be rare, but there’s no doubt you can feel how important you are to him through his actions. He’ll fix your broken toys, take you out on father and son or father and daughter dates, plan family trips and vacations, and so much more.

Here are some loving dad quotes that best depict a father’s love.

1. “A father doesn’t tell you that he loves you. He shows you.” —Dimitri the Stoneheart

2. “To her, the name of father was another name for love.” —Fanny Fern

3. “No one in this world can love a girl more than her father.” —Michael Ratnadeepak

4. “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.” —Alison Lohman

5. “Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” —Pam Brown

6. “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.” ―Ama H. Vanniarachchy

7. A father holds his daughter’s hand for a short while, but he holds her heart forever. ―Anonymous

8. "My father’s soul and my soul are very, very old friends” — Anonymous

9. "To a father growing old, nothing is dearer than a daughter." - Euripides

10. "A father carries pictures where his money used to be." —Steve Martin

11. “Dad, your guiding hand on my shoulder will remain with me forever.” —Unknown

12. “When you need real understanding, when you need someone to care, when you need someone to guide you…a father’s always there.” —Thomas J. Langley

13. “Dad: A son’s first hero, a daughter’s first love.” —Unknown

14. “When my father didn’t have my hand, he had my back.” —Linda Poindexter

15. "Daddies don't just love their children every now and then, it's a love without end." —George Strait

16. “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.” —Sigmund Freud

17. "A father is the one friend upon whom we can always rely." —Emile Gaboriau

18. "The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature." —Antoine Francois Prevost

[#TOC2]Inspirational Father Quotes[#TOC2]

Growing up, I used to think my father was invincible. He was always a strong and reliable force in my life. Now, I’m old enough to understand that life is challenging, and our fathers certainly had their fair share of rough moments, too. 

If your father is still around despite all his hardships and trials, thank him. Here are some inspirational daddy quotes you can use to make this the best Father’s Day for him.

19. “Great fathers don’t find fault. Great fathers find solutions.” —Reed Markham

20. “Only the best dads let their children fly. Only the most loved children will soar.” —Anonymous

21. “When you teach your son, you teach your son’s son.” —The Talmud

22. “Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.” —Ruth E. Renkel

23. “A good father is one of the most unsung, unpraised, unnoticed, and yet one of the most valuable assets in our society.” —Billy Graham

24. "Some people don't believe in heroes, but they haven't met my dad." —Anonymous

25. “By profession, I am a soldier and take great pride in that fact, but I am also prouder, infinitely prouder, to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys.” —General Douglas MacArthur

26. “There’s no shame in fear, my father told me, what matters is how we face it.” —George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

27. “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.” —Unknown

28. “What a father says to his children is not heard by the world, but it will be heard by posterity.” —Jean Paul

29. “Every son quotes his father, in words and in deeds.” —Terri Guillemets

30. “A father’s words are like a thermostat that sets the temperature in the house.” —Paul Lewis

31. “My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” —Clarence Budington Kelland

[#TOC3]Soon-to-Be Dad Quotes[#TOC3]

The thought of having a child can be daunting to soon-to-be dads. You’ll be responsible for bringing up, protecting, and taking care of a tiny new life. It’s scary. It’s overwhelming. And it’s totally normal to feel this way. 

But when a dad holds their baby for the first time Just know that once your baby arrives, taking care of him will feel like the most natural thing in the world.

Here are some father figure quotes for dads who are expecting.

32. “You reserved a place in my heart before yours was even formed.” —Anonymous

33. “The greatest day of my life will be the first day of yours.” —Anonymous

34. “From the moment I heard I was going to be a father, I knew my world would never be the same.” —Anonymous

35. ‘Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects the man.’ —Frank Pittman

36. “As a dad, I can’t promise to fix all my child’s problems, but I can promise that they will never have to face them alone.” —Anonymous

37. “I must have done something so right in the past to deserve the title of being a dad.” —Anonymous

38. “I will never forget the day I became a dad and stood there holding my child in my arms for the very first time. It was like I found my reason to live.” —Anonymous

39. “Having a kid is like falling in love for the first time when you’re 12, but every day.” —Mike Myers

40. “Among all my firsts in life, being a first time dad is my favorite.” —Anonymous

41. “Guiding you through life will be my greatest joy and my deepest challenge. I pray I am worthy of it for you, my child.” —Anonymous

42. “Becoming a dad means you have to be a role model for your son and be someone he can look up to.” —Wayne Rooney

43. “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.” —Barack Obama

44. “Be a loving father to your child and give them a life full of happiness and success.” —Anonymous

45. “Father is the noblest title a man can be given. It is more than a biological role. It signifies a patriarch, a leader, an exemplar, a confidant, a teacher, a hero, a friend.” —Robert L. Backman

46. “It feels like all the roads that I took in my life, every road led me to being a father.” —Anonymous

47. “Everything feels so new to me, but the kind of feeling that makes my heart giddy that I will become a father.” —Anonymous

[#TOC4]Quotes About Missing Your Father[#TOC4]

As indestructible as our fathers seem, they are still, after all, human. Someday, we will lose them—to time, illness, or distance.

And if distance is your only obstacle to seeing your dad, count yourself lucky. Many others would give anything for a chance to see their own fathers again. I know I would jump at a chance to send one of these quotes to my dad one last time!

If you’re missing your dad, send him a special Father’s Day wish today. It will definitely cheer you both up and make you remember all the good times you had before life got in the way.

48. “Although we haven't seen each other in a long time, know that you're always in my heart and in my mind.” —Anonymous

49. “The distance between us is only as far as we make it, Dad. You are with me in spirit wherever I am.” —Anonymous

50. "Let me tell you, he is the hole in my heart. His loss is my scar. But let me tell you something, his memory drives me forward every single day of my life." —Anonymous

51. “Whenever I am missing you, I also remember how fortunate I was that you were in my life. I wouldn’t trade those moments for the world.” —Anonymous

52. “This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments – and you get the tears at the end, too.” —Harlan Coben

53. “A father’s love is forever imprinted on his child’s heart.” —Jennifer Williamson

54. “There is no expiration date on the love between a father and his child.” —Jennifer Williamson

55. “We may be far apart right now, but we are as close as ever in our hearts. Dad, your love helps me through each day even when I am away.” —Anonymous

56. “Dad, wherever you are, you are gone but you will never be forgotten.” —Conrad Hall

57. “Say not in grief ‘he is no more’ but in thankfulness that he was.” —Hebrew Proverb

58. “Looking up at the stars and knowing we share the same world makes me feel close to you, Dad. I love living in your universe!” —Anonymous

59. “When it comes to the love that you and I share, distance doesn’t really matter because we are connected with our hearts and souls.” —Anonymous

60. “It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.” —Johann Friedrich Von Schiller

61. “No matter how old we are, we still need our dads, and wonder how we’ll get by without them.” – Jennifer Williamson

[#TOC5]Funny Dad Quotes[#TOC5]

Dads come in all shapes and sizes. They can be tall or short, skinny or bulky, hairy or shaved. But the one thing all great dads do have in common is a sense of humor — or rather, dad humor. Yeah, their dad jokes might make you want to roll your eyes now, but one day you’ll look back at these silly moments with great joy.

Here are some funny quotes about dads that you might be able to relate to.  Get your dad a mug on Amazon and have one of these quotes printed on it as a father’s day gift. He’ll love it!

62. “You gotta love dads. At my wedding, when I tripped on my wedding dress and fell flat on my face, Dad said, “Don’t worry, you’ll do better next time”.” —Melanie White

63. “The older I get, the smarter my father seems to get.” —Tim Russert

64. “You can tell what was the best year of your father’s life, because they seem to freeze that clothing style and ride it out.” —Jerry Seinfeld

65. “By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he’s wrong.” —Charles Wadsworth

66. “When you’re young, you think your dad is Superman. Then you grow up, and you realize he’s just a regular guy who wears a cape.” —Dave Attell

67. “Having children is like living in a frat house. Nobody sleeps, everything’s broken and there’s a lot of throwing up.” —Ray Romano

68. “My daughter got me a 'World’s Best Dad' mug. So we know she’s sarcastic.” —Bob Odenkirk

69. “I've been to war. I've raised twins. If I had a choice, I'd rather go to war.” —George W. Bush

70. “Remember: What dad really wants is a nap. Really.” —Dave Barry

71. “My father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.” —Spike Milligan

72. “Happy Fathers Day, Dad! I wouldn’t trade you for anything. Of course, nobody’s offered me anything.” —Melanie White

73. “Just once on Father's Day, I wish my kids would give me a #1 Dad mug instead of one with my actual ranking.” —Andy Borowitz

74. “Fatherhood is great because you can ruin someone from scratch.” —Jon Stewart

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Our Best Picks

Can’t choose a quote? Here are our best picks to get you started.

What is a Great Father Quote?

“Dads are most ordinary men turned by love into heroes, adventurers, story-tellers, and singers of song.” —Pam Brown

What is an Emotional Quote About a Father?

“This is the price you pay for having a great father. You get the wonder, the joy, the tender moments – and you get the tears at the end, too.” – Harlan Coben

What is a Simple Caption for Dad?

“My father didn’t tell me how to live. He lived and let me watch him do it.” —Clarence Budington Kelland

What is a Sweet Word for Father?

Here are a few endearing alternatives to the word father:

• Dad
• Papa
• Pops
• Pa
• Poppa
• Baba

Ending Note

A dad is an irreplaceable figure in a person’s life. Let these father quotes remind you of all the great moments you had with your dad. The most important thing is to celebrate his presence in your life while you still can, and appreciate all that he is and all that he has done for you.