Dick - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Dick

Originating as an Anglo-Saxon diminutive of the name Richard—itself derived from the Old High German elements ric (“ruler, power”) and hard (“brave, hardy”)—Dick has traditionally conveyed connotations of leadership and resilience within the English‐language milieu. Its sustained presence in American birth records, exemplified by Wisconsin data from 1913 through 1963 where it held annual male‐name rankings between approximately eighty‐third and one hundred forty‐third place, attests to its mid‐twentieth‐century prevalence. In subsequent decades, however, shifts in colloquial semantics and broader onomastic preferences precipitated a marked decline in its usage among newborn males. Nonetheless, Dick’s rich etymological lineage and its appearances in Anglo‐American folklore, literary works and popular media continue to render it a subject of technical interest in the study of naming trends and sociolinguistic evolution.