Comments for the name Dick (1)

Why would you do that to your child?

Dick York and Dick Sargent both played Darrin Stephens in the T.V. show "Bewitched."

The first Robin's given name was Dick Grayson.

I used to have an neighbor named Dick. When I got older and learned what his name meant in slang, I felt bad for him.

Dick is a short name for Richard but has been called Dickey since the day he was born. It was his uncle's name too.

My cousin's class has a Dick in it. They all know what it means, but only call him Dick when they're angry with him. Otherwise, they use his Chinese name. When my cousin and I somehow get to that topic, we don't say Dick straight out. We use Dick's Chinese name. It's hilarious, but who could do that to a child?

Famous actor Dick Van Dyke.

Association with the male organ will make things a misery for people named Richard. Same goes for William.

Seeing as you said that as anonymous and I can't message you, how is William associated in the same way as Dick?

Because Willy is short for William.

Dear Richards of the world, I really feel sorry when you are called Dick by others. It is really stupid of them to associate your name with a male organ.

Don't. Just don't. Your child will thank you.

I'd rather call him Rick if his name was Richard. And I feel sorry for Dick Van Dyke. Dyke means gay woman or something to that extent.

On the Mary Tyler Moore Show, Dick Van Dyke bore the backstage nickname of "Penis Van Lesbian". I suspect that Richard Nixon contributed to the meaning that "Dick" has now. It's sad how an ordinary name picks up an infamous (or famous) meaning and is forever befouled. And let's not even start on the obscene jokes that whirl around the phrase "Tom, Dick, and Harry" (which simply means "everyone").

Go with Rick, instead, as a pet name.

Oh, and I don't associate William with any filthy terms; I stay with either the full name or "Will"/"Billy", and I simply avoid the nickname "Willy".

What about Dick Cheney? (or however it's spelt) I'm sure you don't think of a male organ when you hear his whole name.

My Grandpa's name is Richard and goes by Dick. He's been called that since he was a boy. It's not really a big deal or anything and nobody ever laughs or makes comments about it. Most guys called Dick seem to be older so it doesn't really get made fun of like that because most people are mature enough (I hope) to treat a man called Dick with respect.

I feel sorry for anyone who has the name Dick.

I hope every single one of you who has defiled the name Dick, Richard or Dickey get humiliated and degraded in the worse possible ways. You all say, "how could you do this to a child?" Well, you know what, I ask all of you how could YOU do this to a child? How do you think it feels when people can't respect your name and embarrass you from childhood to adulthood. Also by the way, pick up a PROPER dictionary once in a while or ask a doctor to find out what the correct word for the male organ really is. So maybe this teenage game will end? Anyway, My father's name is Dickie and he has always been a very honest, fair and compassionate person. If you are considering naming your child this name then I think that is great but remember that there will always be these kinds of people in the world like the ones on this comment list. Never let them run over you.

Wow, Cyneburga, that first line can't possibly be serious. All because of our opinion on a name? How ridiculous, calm down.

While I don't like the name Dick, I've always found Dicky / Dickie to be really cute for a little boy. But of course that'd be for a little boy from back in the '40s or '50s. Not now.

I'd probably use Dick if it didn't mean penis. It's a nice nickname for Richard.

That name is the same thing as a male organ. When your kid gets older kids at school will make fun of him to the point he is miserable. I feel sorry for anybody named Dick. What an awful name to name your child. That would be just flat out torture to do that to a poor innocent boy. :(

Not bad. As long as your last name isn't "Head" ;). Because seriously, who'd want to go through life being called Dick Head?

Never have the name Dick and its alternate meaning been so appropriately intertwined as with the United States' megalomaniacal VP.

I don't quite understand exactly how one gets Dick out of Richard. They don't sound at all the same to me. Apparently it's a linguistic thing that I don't understand.

1. Chiefly British A fellow; a guy.
2. Vulgar A penis.
3. Vulgar A person, especially a man, regarded as mean or contemptible.
tr. V. Dicked, Dick·ing, dicks Vulgar
1. To take advantage of; cheat.
2. To have sexual intercourse with.
Phrasal Verbs:
Dick around Vulgar

Personally, I think the name Dick is awful.
1. To spend time idly; fool around.
2. To be sexually promiscuous.
Dick up Vulgar
To botch or bungle.

I'm quite surprised nobody's said anything about Moby Dick.

The slang use of "dick" for "penis" had nothing to do with Richard Nixon. There are written references to it as early as 1891, and since vulgar slang for sexual organs didn't make it into print often back in the 19th century, it's probably really a bit older than that.

It's amazing to me how quickly historical memory about the use of names is lost. Almost every American man named Richard who was born before 1950 would have been called Dick as his main nickname as a matter of course. No one would have thought it was "cruel" to use the name just because it had a slang meaning any more than most people today would think it cruel to name a child John even though that name has the slang meanings of "toilet" and "prostitute's customer". As long as almost everyone heard the name many more times a day than they heard the slang meaning, the name seemed perfectly OK. It's only after Richard became less common as a given name, and people started using sexual slang more openly as part of their everyday conversation, that people in younger generations were able to start thinking of using the name Dick as being "cruel" or "odd".

By now, this nickname sounds terribly old-fashioned, and a Richard that goes by Dick is most likely middle-aged or old. Even if the name wasn't a colloquial word for 'penis', it would sound rather dimwitted to me. I sort of imagine a guy called Dick to be a fat, balding or bald, ugly guy.

You are cruel if you name your child 'Dick'.

Oh, come on, people. Get your minds out of the gutter. I, for one, think this is a good name. It was my grandpa's name, and I like it.

My mom who's 82 years old told me that the name Dick became used as another name for a male organ because there were so many men named Dick when the whole slang term started. I think it's a nice name, but unfortunately it's taken on this connotation. Why give your child a name that will brand him with painful experiences? I must say, my mom's male friend is named Dick and I had a difficult time calling him by his name. It was just uncomfortable. Also, this name can create embarrassing situations. Both my mom and my aunt have men named Dick. When my uncle's brother threw a party, we were all asked whether we'd like to say something nice about him. Well, I said, that following my uncles death my aunt was very lonely, but that my uncle's brother had found Dick for her now she's happy. Later, I was very embarrassed as I thought about what I had said.

I don't think the vulgar association will be gotten rid of for a long time. I feel bad for anyone with Dick as a legal name, which is far worse than having Dick as a nickname.

Growing up in the 50s and 60s, I thought Dick was a perfectly acceptable nickname for Richard. I didn't understand the origin, but later read that it follows a "rhyming" pattern "Will/Bill" "Meg/Peg" etc. This website suggests that it had something to do with the Norman French pronunciation, which seems possible.

I only heard the slang term in my mid- to late teens. I interpreted it as a variation of "dink" (which was common slang in my region to refer to male genitalia). However, given other "name" terminology for body parts, it does seem likely that Dick's relative popularity contributed to its slang use for male genitalia.

I know of one aging Richard who has switched from Dick to Rich/Rick (yes, he can't seem to make up his mind). Some time ago, I also knew an American born Richard whose German born wife HATED the nickname, but not for the reasons you might think. "Dick" means "fat" auf deutsch, and this Richard was a little on the heavy side. She refused to use his nickname for that reason. I'm not sure if she was ever even aware of the slang American association.

No. Just no. DO NOT name your child this!

Alright, I'm honestly afraid of being gored by hungry pangolins (or worse, commenters), but Dick has really grown on me! It might have to do something with Batman, because while it's nowhere near my favorites, I'm becoming fond of it. I know, I know- you all can laugh. I'd never inflict this on someone, but it's a decent name in my eyes.

Wrong, just wrong!

A favorite gag of students filling out cards for class seating charts used to be (and perhaps still is) to make out an extra one with the name "Dick Hertz." When the unsuspecting teacher did not get a response to the name, s/he would be likely to ask, "Who's Dick Hertz?"

I don't like Dick. Not because of the jokes, but because it's too short, nickname-like and because it simply sounds ugly. Like Rick and even Mick.
Good about this name is that it fits an older male better than Rick.

Please, just don't. The additional meaning is a magnet for insults.

Dick Gumshoe is a recurring character in the Ace Attorney video game series for the DS.

My last name is Dick so I know what it feels like to grow up with the name. Parents please don't name your kids that. It's tough.

My grandpa goes by Rich, my great uncle goes by Rick, and my cousin goes by either Ricky (what the family calls him) or Rick. Only Papi used the nickname Dick. Granted, he was born in the early 1920s (possibly before that), but to my knowledge he was never teased for his name. I don't think men of his generation were. To this day, I haven't met a "Dick" under 60 years old.
I would very much like to use the name Richard in the future, if I ever have a son. However... Dick is not a nickname I would ever use, no matter how much I loved and respected my Papi. I'd most likely call him Ricky.

Now, I know a lot of people seem to hate this name. But, it’s a very respectable name. You all are being narrow-minded. (no offense intended) Just, forget about the dumb teenage slang. Now, what do you get?

I get a very respectable name, with a very successful man.

Now, I’m not say that I would name my son this. The chances of teasing is just too high.

But, seriously people, you’re being too narrow minded about this name. Just loosen up a tad bit.

Thank you to the users Myth Writer Dreamer, Wilted, Cyneburga, and welovejamesarness for being mature and keeping an open mind about this name. I'm not trying to point out anyone's faults or anything, but I was getting tired of the jokes.

I don't think this is necessarily a bad name, but if you live in an English speaking country this name isn't a great idea.

Richard "Dick" Bultitude is a character in the 1882 novel Vice Versa.

Dick is my given name, not Richard. I was named for my mother's family, whose surname is Dick. I don't care what your motivation for choosing this name for your child is, DON'T DO IT! PLEASE! Unless of course you hate your child. I was born in 1961, and according to my mother, the name at that time was not, at least very often, associated with the male reproductive organ. However, by the time I was in second grade it was and from that time on I have lost many friends and been in many altercations as a result. Has it made me tougher, as in the song "Boy named Sue"? No, just angry and alone. I've changed my name since high school, which broke my mother's heart. It also, separated me from my identity as a child, which in many ways broke my own heart. But it had to be done, constant berating and ostracizing from people took too big a toll. To parents-to-be who ask, "What's in a name?", I say, EVERYTHING--for your child's entire life and perhaps beyond.