Dick (nickname)

From Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

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]

Notable people[edit]

Business[edit]

Crime[edit]

Entertainment[edit]

Military[edit]

  • 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[edit]

  • 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 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[edit]

Others[edit]

  • Dick Assman (1934–2016), Canadian gas station worker
  • Dick Gregory (1932–2017), American civil rights activist and comedian

Fictional characters[edit]

  • 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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Tony Merevick (September 8, 2016). "How Did 'Dick' Become Short for 'Richard'?". Thrillist. Retrieved June 24, 2021.