Dick 1

Dick would have been a nice cute little nickname for the more formal sounding Richard for centuries. Just like other names that arose from the classic rhyming method, Robert -> Bob, Margaret -> Peggy, these are cute nicknames that would sound less harsh and stuffy than the original names they were derived from. Dick was once so common that we still have the expression “every Tom, Dick and Harry”. Unfortunately for Dick, it became a victim of its own popularity, as it became a slang word for everything from a private detective to... other kinds of privates. But I think what really sealed the fate of this name (after all, Peter and Willy are also slang words for the male genitals, yet these names are not taboo like Dick is) was when it also became a slang word for a rude or mean person. After that, there was no way anyone was going to give their child this name anymore.

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I think it’s sad, because there’s really nothing wrong with the name Dick, it’s just a cute rhyming name for Richard that at one time would have evoked whimsical childhood innocence. But time and our need for convenient slang words gradually corrupted it to the point where it is unusable. Those named Dick today are the last of their kind.

According to howmanyofme.com there is 1 person named Dick Head, pray for that poor man.

There are 12 people named Dick Long,
4 named Dick Hardy,
4 named Dick Love,
3 named Dick Small,
2 named Dick Goods,
2 named Dick Gay,
1 named Dick Fair,
1 named Dick Fuchs,
1 named Dick Smalley,
And 1 named Dick Dick.