Dick (nickname) explained
Dick is a nickname most often for Richard, which likely originated in the Middle Ages as rhyming slang for "Rick", as did William → Will → Bill and Robert → Rob → Bob. The association with "penis" is more recent, arising from Dick becoming a cliché name for any man, as in Tom, Dick and Harry.[1] The use of the nickname Dick has declined drastically in recent decades due to the association of Dick with a penis; by 1969, Dick had fallen outside of the top 1,000 most common names for newborn baby boys in the US. By 2014, there were fewer than five babies born in the United States with the name Dick on a birth certificate. [2]
Notable people
Business
Crime
Entertainment
- Dick Cavett (born 1936), American television talk show host
- Dick Clark (1929–2012), American radio and television personality
- Dick Contino (1930–2017), American accordionist
- Dick Couch, American writer
- Dick Dale (1937–2019), American musician known as "King of the Surf Guitar"
- Dick Jensen (1942–2006), American musical performer
- Dick King-Smith (1922–2011), English author
- Richard McCourt (born 1976), British TV presenter and comedian known for Dick and Dom
- Dick Powell (1904–1963), American actor and musician
- Dick Sargent (1930–1994), American actor
- Dick Shawn (1923–1987), American actor and comedian
- Dick Van Patten (1928–2015), American actor
- Dick Wolf, American television producer
- Dick York (1928–1992), American actor
Military
- Frederick Ashworth (1912–2005), United States Navy officer
- Richard Joseph Audet (1922–1945), Canadian fighter pilot ace during World War II
- Richard "Dick" Halsey Best (1910–2001), United States Navy pilot is credited with sinking the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi
- Richard Bong (1920–1945), top flying ace of the US during World War II, decorated war hero, National Aviation Hall of Fame inductee
- Richard Marcinko (1940–2021), United States Navy officer and Navy SEAL
- Richard Winters (1918–2011), officer of the United States Army and decorated war veteran
Politics
- Dick Armey (born 1940), American politician and member of US House of Representatives from Texas (1985–2003)
- Dick Cheney (born 1941), American politician who served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009
- Dick Clark (Iowa politician) (1928–2023), American politician and U.S. Senator from Iowa (1973–1979)
- Dick Durbin (born 1944), American politician and US senator from Illinois serving as Senate Majority Whip
- Dick Gordon (politician) (born 1945), Filipino politician and broadcaster
- Richard Lamm (1935–2021), American politician, writer, Certified Public Accountant, college professor, and lawyer
- Richard Lugar (1932–2019), American politician who served as U.S. Senator from Indiana who served from 1977 to 2013
- Richard Lyon (naval officer) (1923–2017), United States Navy admiral and former mayor of Oceanside, California
- Dick Schoof (born 1957), current Prime Minister of the Netherlands (2024-present)
- Dick Thornburgh (1932–2020), American politician, Governor of Pennsylvania (1979–1987), and US Attorney General (1988–1991)
- Richard Nixon (1913–1994), American politician, President of the USA (1969–1974), Vice President (1953–1961), Senator (1950–1953), Representative (1947–1950)
Sports
- Dick Advocaat (born 1947), Dutch football manager and former player
- Dick Ambrose (born 1953), American football linebacker in the National Football League
- Dick Attlesey (1929–1984), American hurdler
- Dick Ault (1925–2007), American Olympian
- Dick Barber (1910–1983), American long jumper
- Dick Bavetta (born 1939), American professional basketball referee for the National Basketball Association
- Dick Butkus (1942–2023), American football player, sports commentator, and actor
- Dick Conger (1921–1970), American major league baseball pitcher
- Dick Cox (1897–1966), American baseball player
- Dick Davis (running back) (born 1946), American football player
- Dick Davis (defensive end) (1938–2021), American football player
- Dick Deer Slayer, American football player
- Dick Dietz (1941–2005), American baseball player
- Dick Enberg (1935–2017), American sportscaster
- Dick Fencl (1910–1972), American football player
- Dick Groat (1930–2023), American baseball and basketball player
- Richard Head (footballer), Australian rules footballer
- Dick Hoblitzell (1888–1962), American Major League Baseball player
- Dick Hurley (1847–aft. 1916), American baseball player
- Dick Ives (1926–1997), American basketball player
- Dick Johnson (footballer) (1895–1933), English footballer
- Dick Johnson (racing driver) (born 1945), Australian touring car driver and team owner
- Dick Johnson (rugby league) (1916–1984), Australian rugby league footballer
- Dick Johnson (sailor) (1923–2005), American sailor
- Dick Johnston (1863–1934), American baseball player
- Dick Johnston (journalist) (1919–2008), Canadian sportswriter
- Dick King (American football) (1895–1930), American football player
- Dick Murdoch (1946–1996), American professional wrestler
- Dick Pole (born 1950), American baseball player and coach
- Dick Pound (born 1942), Canadian swimming champion and first president of the World Anti-Doping Agency
- Dick Reynolds (1915–2002), Australian rules footballer who represented Essendon in the Victorian Football League
- Dick Ricketts (1933–1988), American basketball and baseball player
- Dick Rutkowski, American diving medicine pioneer
- Dick Savitt (1927–2023), American tennis player
- Dick Schweidler (1914–2010), American football player
- Dick Shikat (1897–1968), German professional wrestler and World Heavyweight Champion
- Dick Shiner (born 1942), American football player
- Dick Stanfel (1927–2015), American football player
- Dick Such (born 1944), American baseball player and coach
- Dick Tayler (born 1948), New Zealand long-distance runner
- Dick Trickle (1941–2013), American race car driver
- Dick Vermeil (born 1936), National Football League coach
- Dick Vitale (born 1939), American basketball sportscaster
- Dick Wagner (baseball) (1927–2006), American baseball executive
- Dick Woodson (born 1945), American baseball player
Others
- Dick Assman (1934–2016), Canadian gas station worker
- Dick Gregory (1932–2017), American civil rights activist and comedian
- Dick Willy Gill (1994-Present), Telephonist at Pony Express
Fictional characters
- Dick and Jane, main characters in a children's reading book series
- Dick Baker, character from the co-op mode of Dead Rising 3
- Dick Grayson, the name of Robin and other superheroes in the DC Universe
- Dick Gumshoe, a character from the visual novel series Ace Attorney
- Dick Harper, one of the title characters in a 1977 film Fun with Dick and Jane that was remade in 2005
- Dick Loudon, the main character in the TV show Newhart
- Dick Solomon, the High Commander of the alien visitors in 3rd Rock from the Sun
- Dick Tracy, comic strip referencing another usage of dick as slang for detective
- Dick Whitman, the birth name of Donald Draper, the main character in Mad Men
- Dick Gansey III, from The Raven Cycle
See also
Notes and References
- Web site: How Did 'Dick' Become Short for 'Richard'?. Tony Merevick. September 8, 2016. June 24, 2021. Thrillist.
- https://medium.com/mel-magazine/where-did-all-the-dicks-go-65d39e6c6981
