Given name & surname
Dick
“a powerful ruler”
In English use, Dick is a diminutive of Richard. One English interpretation is “a powerful ruler.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Dick carries the interpretation “a powerful ruler.” In English use, Dick is a diminutive of Richard. One English interpretation is “a powerful ruler.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
In English use, Dick is used as a shortened form of Richard.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Dick is a diminutive of Richard. The history of Richard gives this family its wider story. The Normans brought Richard to England, where it was borne by three kings. Richard I’s nickname Lionheart and his later appearance in Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe helped give the name a lasting place in popular historical storytelling.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Dick through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29,321
- 29,273 boys · 48 girls
- Most popular year
- 1934
- 1,131 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2005. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,131 in 1934. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,350 as a first name in 2020; 18,994 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dick’s family of names
In English usage, Dick is a diminutive of Richard. Dick has a surname derivative in Dixon. In Dutch usage, Dick has a related form in Dik.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Dick has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its English roots to each of them.
Englishwhere Dick comes from · 21 names
Nicknames & forms 21
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 14
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Dick
- Dick CheneyVice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 (1941–2025)
- Dick Schoofcivil servant and former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, 2024-2026born 1957
- Dick AdvocaatDutch association football player and managerborn 1947
- Dick Van DykeAmerican actor and comedian (born 1925)
- Dick FosburyAmerican athletics competitor, high jumper1947–2023
- Dick DurbinUnited States Senator from Illinoisborn 1944
- Dick PowellAmerican actor (1904-1963)
- Dick ScobeeAmerican astronaut1939–1986
- Dick ClarkAmerican radio and television personality (1929–2012)
Characters named Dick: Dick Grayson (one of several fictional characters using the identity Robin), Dick Dastardly (fictional cartoon character from Wacky Races), Dick Tracy (hero of the Dick Tracy comic strip), Dick Gumshoe (Ace Attorney character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Dick, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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