Dick is a nickname for males named Richard. I don't know of any parents that have named their child Dick, though I have known (at least) two Richards that went by Dick. One would be about 80, were he still alive, the other is about my age, so somewhere between 40 and 50. I think Rich or Rick are more common nicknames for Richard among people 50 or younger. I have known a few Riches and a few Ricks.

So, when you called them Dick, were you aware of the double-meaning of that nickname?

It's something I'm aware of but not something I think about when I use the name. Probably when I first got to know the first guy named Dick, I thought about it the first few times I or someone else said his name. I was probably 18 then. Otherwise, I don't think of it, no. It strikes me as something that kids/teenagers would be more likely to think about. Or maybe guys...I just asked my husband and he says he doesn't think about it either, "but I probably wouldn't name my kid that."

As far as I'm concerned the slang word is quite rude. I don't use it that way, so it's easy for me not to think of it when the two (make that three, just thought of someone else I've known named Dick) people I've known have been incredibly nice people. Maybe if I knew a guy named Dick who was a real jerk, I'd think about it, but even then I'd think about it as dick=jerk, not dick=penis.

but even then I'd think about it as dick=jerk, not dick=penis (#3)

The good old Australian term for jerk is "dickhead". The name "Dick" only has very mild phallic connotations.

This is actually pretty interesting:
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_is_Dick_a_nickn...

(EDIT: Stravinsky, patent that one -- very mild phallic connotations)

As far as I remember, one of the Famous Five is called Dick (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Famous_Five_... ), and no one is his/her right mind can accuse Enid Blyton of thinking that name had any implication other than being a short form for Richard. I also do remember "every Dick, Tom and Harry" as a more colorful phrase for "anyone".

I can't imagine any male between 6 and 25 willingly having the name 'Dick' attached to him, but above that, it depends on who your friends are, I suppose.

The English language has a knack for using normal terms in a suggestive manner.

'Dick' is a short form of 'Richard', and I certainly wouldn't condone a blanket ban on that name. Should parents also refrain from calling their children William (-willy...) or John Thomas (Lady Chatterley)?

That said, the use of 'Dick' as a short form of Richard is not as common now as it used to be.

RE #2: So, when you called them Dick, were you aware of the double-meaning of that nickname?

No. It's the same way with "Rich", also a nickname for Richard. "Rich" means reich or "having lots of money". But when I have a friend whose name is Rich, I don't think of him as being wealthy, that's just his (nick)name.

(OT: #7, Richard, your stopping by this thread made by day. Right on. Well said.)

Thanks for all your interesting comments.

There's nothing wrong being called "Dick", but I can understand it if someone does not like being called by that name.
 
Famous Dicks:
Dick Cheney
Dick van Dyke
Dick Clark
Dick Cavett
'Tricky Dick' Nixon

Dick Tracy
Moby Dick


Although sexual connotations to "Dick" are probably limited to immature pubescent adolescents, I have to admit I burst out laughing when friends I was visiting in Brighton asked me if I'd like some Spotted Dick :-)

An anti-Nixon bumper sticker during one of his presidential campaigns:

Dick Nixon before he dicks you.

And then there's Fun with Dick and Jane. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_and_Jane

We had these books around the house when I was a kid (my mother had been an elementary teacher) and if the negative connotation was strong at that time, I doubt the books would have been titled that.

Still, the popularity of Dick as a nickname seems to have undergone a shift. Almost all of the Dicks I know (have known) are roughly my parents' generaration . Consider Dick Nixon (1913), Dick Cheney (1941), Dick Van Dyke (1925), Dick Cavett (1936), Dick Clark (1929), Dick Tracy (debuted in 1931). I can only think of one Dick I have known who was my age and can't think of any younger than me. So sometime in the 70's the nickname must have gone out of favor, at least in the U.S. Possibly that has more to do with Tricky Dick Nixon than any other connotations.

In Deutschland gibt es auch kuriose Namen......

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9j2eA9XlwM

@11 - you mustn't be from England, I'd never even dream of finding spotted dick funny, it's just a set name...

Ich kannte mal eine Frau, die den schönen Namen "Gay" trug.
Als ihre Eltern ihr diesen Namen gaben, war das Wort wahrscheinlich noch überwiegend in seinem ursprünglichen Sinn (bunt, fröhlich) bekannt.

Was sollen Leute machen, deren Namen so einen Bedeutungswandel erfährt? Sich umbenennen?

Was sollen die ganzen "Adolfs" machen, die in den 30er oder 40er Jahren so benannt wurden? Fände ich fast noch belastender, mit so einem Namen leben zu müssen als mit einem, dem lediglich die Gossensprache etwas anderes anhängt.

#13: Still, the popularity of Dick as a nickname seems to have undergone a shift.

In the UK too, I'd say.

#15: ...I'd never even dream of finding spotted dick funny,...

Never? ;-)

#16: Ich kannte mal eine Frau, die den schönen Namen "Gay" trug.

When was she born? You do occasionally come across the name in the UK. I'd say it's a rare name, though, and nowadays only borne by middle-aged and older women.

#16: Ich kannte mal eine Frau, die den schönen Namen "Gay" trug.

#17 When was she born? You do occasionally come across the name in the UK. I'd say it's a rare name, though, and nowadays only borne by middle-aged and older women.

Ich denke mal so, wahrscheinlich etwa Mitte der 60er Jahre. Und zwar in den USA.

Gay can also be a man's name:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Talese

Guy can also be a a man's name.

Fact of the matter, there's nothing in a name.
What's in a name? Nada.

Who cares? It's just a name. Sticks and stones break bones,
but names can never hurt.

And they are culturally what they are. Nothing more, nothing less.

When I was growing up a friend of my mother was called Gaye. Her children were about my age. She is still called Gaye and no one even thinks twice when calling her that. It was quite a common name, even for people younger than my mother's generation.
We used the word gay to mean happy and cheerful and I find it such a shame that we can no longer use it that way. It simply had no other meaning whatsoever, not just "überwiegend" as mentioned by #16.
Maybe that's hard for people to realise if they have only ever known the newer meanings of such words.
Same goes for me with spotted dick It was a seriously good pudding served regularly in the school canteen and no one ever laughed about the meaning. At that tender age, of course, I didn't know the other meaning and neither did I need to know it!
And I knew several Dicks = Richards and no one laughed about them either.
The associations just didn't exist.

Es gibt doch auch im Deutschen Vornamen, die eine sexuelle Doppelbedeutung, i.e. milde phallische Konnotationen haben: der Johannes oder der in beiden Sprachen verwendete Willy... Und zu den möglichen Konnotationen weiblicher Kosenamen, könnte man Edmund Stoiber befragen...

http://www.lunser.de/2007/05/07/wie-die-nase-...
http://sz-magazin.sueddeutsche.de/texte/anzei...
http://www.zeit.de/2005/34/Stoiber
http://www.stromboli-de.com/sex/Stoiber%20mit...

I think the name Dick is just a phallusy :-)

#23. I just laughed if no one else did. Punny.

Da phallustiert sich mal wieder jemand ...

#19: Gay can also be a man's name...

I've never come across this in the UK. Maybe a UK-US difference?

Probably going (further) off-topic, but...has anyone ever come across "Gaylord" as a first name in the UK? Or is it (more) American?
cf. Siehe auch: Gaylord

#26: See Wikipedia on Gaye or Gay Byrne. In this case Gay is an abbreviation of Gabriel.

@#27:
Ah, right - thanks for the info. I didn't know about the link between Gay and Gabriel. I'd also forgotten about Gay Byrne (though I'd say he's less well-known in Britain than in Ireland). I also wonder whether Gay(e) may be a more common name in Ireland than in Britain: I doubt it's ever been "quite a common name" (cf. #21) where I'm from.

#26: See Wikipedia on Gaye or Gay Byrne. In this case Gay is an abbreviation of Gabriel.

Sorry for the repeat!

What really makes me cringe is the American name "Randy". "Dick" is harmless by comparison.

@ 20 - And they are culturally what they are. Nothing more, nothing less. Nuh uh: They are also culturally what they become, which is an important distinction. And how fashionable a particular name is at any given time is an important marker, too; when I was very young, there was a large influx of immigrants at my school who needed or wanted to take "American" names, but for some reason tended toward names that made them sound like they had dropped out of the 1940s, which by then gave them a whiff of the grandmotherly: Ethel, Mabel, Edna, Irma, Ida.

I knew a woman named Gay when I was a kid, too, but she was also at least two hundred years old, or so I thought at the time. She was probably 50. Sigh.

@ 31 - Ha! That's a new one for me. Never thought about it from the other perspective.

Dann gibt es Eliot Spitzer, der wörtlich seinem Namen gerecht wurde...

Eliot pencil sharpener?

Nein! Der Kerl war ständig spitz

My father was a Richard (b. 1915). All his friends and family called him Dick. He hated his first name, Claude. He came from a farming family and in school he was taunted with "clodhopper" (country hick or bumpkin).

Parents named me John. I got all the toilet taunts in school. (For the Brits, a john is a loo.) John has fallen way off the list of popular baby names.

Then there's the rhyming taunts in school -- Charlotte the harlot, Mandy the pamby, June the looney-tune. Have a friend named Mabel. Her nieces & nephews call her Miss Maybe.

Sissy is an affectionate name brothers frequently used to call their sisters, but not much any more. So we have a very affectionate dog we named Sissy. I still like the name.

Katydid, #32, Point taken. A name can take on a life of its own.

I love Eliot Spitzer! (He's misunderstood, and the "spitz" is Yiddish, or is it high German too? Oops, this is new to me:
Siehe Wörterbuch: horny

Stravinsky, So I gather "Horny" is not a common name in Australia?

Agalinis, Great story. "Claude" is an unusual name in the USA. What is the heritage of your dad? If I may ask.

...ich kenne einen Christoph, der will partout nicht "Chris" genannt werden, was ist damit ???
Kennt jemand einen "Chris" ???? :D

asroma, That name is different in German and English, but "Chris" probably tends towards being a female name (the sound), but I know that it hovers very close to 50/50, in the name game. And there are numerous famous people of both genders with the name.

#38 ...ich kenne einen Christoph, der will partout nicht "Chris" genannt werden, was ist damit ???

Das kann natürlich auch völlig andere Gründe haben.
Ich habe z.B. im realen Leben einen etwas längeren Vornamen, und ich HASSE ganz einfach jedwede Art von Abkürzung davon.

opine, thank you for your answer.

Das erklärt mein Erstaunen über die strikte Abweisung der Kurzform....war für mich überhaupt nicht nachvollziehbar. Er lebt seit über 20 Jahren in den USA und ich in DE. Ist dann also schon eher eine kulturell bedingte Ansicht über diesen Namen.

That name is different in German and English, but "Chris" probably tends towards being a female name (the sound).

Maybe in America. Most English people assume Chris is male and really called Christopher. I do know a femal Chris who is called just that - not short for anything - but she's a rare exception.

@asroma - maybe your friend just doesn't like having his name shortened. My brother's name is Johnathan. He hates it being shortened to John because (his words) John is not his name.

Ich hatte auch nie ein Problem, mit "Chris". Diese Kurzform wird in Amerika dann wohl etwas "zweideutig" gesehen, während die in Europa scheinbar "gang und gebe" ist. So kann aus der kulturell unterschiedlichen Sichtweise aus einem harmlosen Vornamen schnell eine Anzüglichkeit werden.

Dazu fällt mir noch ein Beispiel ein:
"a roland for an oliver" - "Wie du mir-so ich dir"
Habe mir in DE noch nie Gedanken zu diesen Namen gemacht und habe über diesen Spruch laut gelacht, als ich den gehört hab´.
Gibt es überhaupt noch "Rolands" und "Olivers" im Englischsprachigen Raum ??? :D

A friend of mine has a 1 year-old named Oliver.

And according to this: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/sep/08/baby... Oliver was the second most popular boy's name in 2008, after Jack.

Roland I'm not sure about. All I know is it makes me think of Roland Rat!

# 31

When I first came to Germany there were a lot of GIs in our area (Ulm). Fridays and Saturdays were the usual days (evenings) out on the beer. It happened quite often that I got into conversation with GIs. What really amused me most was when they said I'm Randy, what's your name? ´But good on them, when I stopped laughing and explained what it meant in England (at least) they started laughing as well.

Have a nice day

Roland/Oliver geht doch wohl auf das Rolandslied zurück, oder?

Richard, Rolandslied ( anglo-normannisch ), ja...das könnte sein. Aber was hat das denn mit "Oliver" zu tun ??

Ich las mal in einem Buch über das "Verhalten als Geschäftsmann in den USA", daß man es vermeiden sollte als Dick angesprochen zu werden, wenn man Richard heißt.

ohje, armer Richard.....

#50:

Wie kann ich das Angesprochen-werden vermeiden?

In den USA sprechen sich Geschäftsleute im täglichen beruflichen Ablauf mit Vornamen an, habe ich gehört. In DE ein Ding der Unmöglichkeit....

Indem man sagt, daß man mit Richard angesprochen werden möcht und nicht mit Schwanzus Longus.

#54

Das ist dann aber ein Verhindern ;-)

Vermeiden kann nur der, der aktiv etwas tut.

kehd, das ist ja nun das Leben des "Brian".....auch ein schöner Vorname.

Die deutsche Übersetzung ist nicht schlecht, aber im Original heißt der Gute wirlich nur "Dick". Na gut, (Biggus) Dickus.

@asroma

Im Rolandslied sind Roland & Oliver enge Freunde, die Seite an Seite kämpfen.


Zurück zum Thema "Dick"- meist stellt man sich ja anderen vor; wenn man das dann mit "Richard" macht, wird man meistens auch so angesprochen (gut, Ric, Rich, Richi, etc. kommen manchmal auch vor, "Dick" wird eher selten von anderen als Kurzform des Namens Richard gewählt, wenn dies nicht angeboten wurde). Allerdings sollte man dazu sagen, dass zwar pubertierende 12-18-jährige über den Namen lachen dürften, Geschäftsleute hingegen meistens etwas weniger kindisch sind. Somit sollte auch die Verwendung des Namens "Dick" eigentlich keine Probleme bereiten.

Hast du damit persönliche Erfahrungen gemacht?

scnr

Danke Richard, das macht Sinn.

Ich denke, es ist doch grundsätzlich Usus, dass man den Angesprochenen fragt, ob er evtl. mit einer bestimmten Kurzform seines Namens einverstanden ist. Das kann jeder steuern. Wenn jmd. mit seinem kompletten Namen angesprochen werden möchte, sollte dies grundsätzlich so akzeptiert werden. Hat jemand Probleme damit, dass er mit einem "falschen", abgekürzten Vornamen angesprochen wird ??

@insert_name_here

Klar- Internat in England. Need I say more? ;)

@37 opine
Sorry for the delay of several hours. I just got to work this morning.

Origin & heritage of father's name Claude. Heritage was Anglo-Welsh Alsatian Shawnee. The Alsatian part came from his mother who was Anglo-Alsatian (her maiden name was Schuh, Germanic, but her mother was a Guyton, French, so we just say Alsatian -- simplifies things).

The name Claude came from his father. Grampa was Anglo-Welsh Shawnee. His middle name, Alonzo, came from a Mexican business partner of his grandfather on the Santa Fe Trail (where the name Richard came). That was the Anglo-Welsh ancestor who married the Shawnee ancestor. Otherwise, no idea where the name Claude originated in our family.

Thanks for asking. Lots of inter-ethnic blending in this part of the southwest. Gramma used to call it "hybrid vigor" (as in the hybrid corn Grampa raised).

@62 Agilinis, Thanks for answer. I was curious about the background, and your story is really interesting. It's like you said: inter-ethnic blending, and it's all good.

The stories are real and relevant, and they are part of history. "Hyrid vigor" from Gramma is priceless, even if raised by Gramps. Peace.

I have to agree with those who think that the laughter about the name thing is a bit childish - it might be funny (once) when you're 15, but does anyone really derive a lot of humor from this after they finish puberty? I'm sure there was a point when I also thought that anyone saying "Der Fuchs hat einen buschigen Schwanz" was a world class comedian, but with a little bit of training I'm now capable of ordering Eier without breaking into fits of laughter.

@ 62 - "Hybrid vigor" is common currency in our family too (from sheep, though). We mutts have to stick together. :-)

An acquaintance said just the other day, "I am not being a dick. I'm being a Richard, at least," with a sniff. Priceless.

#60 Hat jemand Probleme damit, dass er mit einem "falschen", abgekürzten Vornamen angesprochen wird ??

Ja. :-) Siehe oben #40. Obwohl mein Name inklusive sämtlicher denkbaren Abkürzungen völlig unverfänglich ist.


#64 Mir geht's genau andersherum. Wahrscheinlich bin ich zu wohlbehütet aufgewachsen, oder in einer Umgebung und/oder Zeit, wo man bestimmte Worte noch unbefangen nutzen konnte.

Ich habe überhaupt erst irgendwann in der Pubertät (wohl durch besonders pubertäre Klassenkameraden ;-) ) mitgekriegt, dass man so ein völlig normales Wort wie "Schwanz" (eines Tieres, also ="tail") zu meiden hatte, wenn man nicht als "world class comedian" in diesem Sinne angesehen werden wollte.

Und irgendwann ging es mir tierisch auf den Wecker, dass es Klassenkameraden gab, in deren Gegenwart man überhaupt nichts mehr sagen durfte, ohne dass sie irgendeinen derartigen Nebensinn darin fanden. :-/

@California (#66): Und dann gibt es eine Phase, in der man wirklich sehr gut aufpassen muss. Jedesmal, wenn man einen harmlosen Satz wie "ich komme gleich" von sich gibt, folgt Gekicher, die Ermahnung, nicht zu laut zu stöhnen o.ä., wird ein Mann aufgrund seines unnachgiebigen Verhaltens als "ganz schön hart" tituliert, kommt ein süffisantes Grinsen und "woher weißt du", und die Erwähnung von Eiern, Nüssen, Melonen und anderen Lebensmitteln ruft geradezu hysterische Anfälle hervor. Die Phase dauerte noch über die verlängerte Pubertät (sprich: Uni) an. Was bin ich froh, das ich aus dem Alter heraus bin und nur noch ab und zu (unter guten Freunden und im nicht ganz nüchternen Zustand) solche Zweideutigkeiten ausgetauscht werden...

#66 Gut, verstehe ich. Mir geht´s mit meinem Namen genauso. Muss auch jeder aktzeptieren.
Er hat meine Anfrage aber mit so grossem Entsetzen abgelehnt und wollte mir dann nach mehrmaligem Nachfragen auch nicht verraten, was ihn so an "Chris" stört.

...sounds like you made Chris cross... ;)

#67 Ja, genau sowas meinte ich. Das ging mir schon massiv auf den Wecker, als ich selber noch mitten in der Pubertät steckte. Und bei manchen "Erwachsenen" beschleicht mich der Verdacht, dass sie selbige nie hinter sich gelassen haben. Vor allem, wenn sie das dann noch für "Humor" halten.

Wenn diese Phase nicht irgendwann von selbst vorübergeht, sollte man sich vielleicht überlegen, ob es nicht an der Zeit ist, den Freundeskreis zu wechseln... ;-)

Richard, ja, so ungefähr war das. So sind die "Amerikaner" ;)

Agalinis, 36: Dank Deinem Beitrag ist mir soeben ein Licht aufgegangen, warum im Film Hair der eine Protagonist Claude Hooper Bukowski heisst...

;)

@67: Naja, auch die "that's what she said" Phase geht wieder vorbei.

Viele eigentümliche Kosenamen (etwa Sascha für Alexander) kommen aus der Kindersprache, wenn die ganz jungen ihren Namen noch nicht aussprechen können. Da gibt es viele Konsonsntersetzungen und Dreher. Ich könnte mir vorstellen, das das R in 'R'ick so zu 'd' wird.
Hat das von Euch je jemand so beobachtet???

#69 Hey, habe dein Wortspiel beim 2. Mal Lesen verstanden...Auch ein Amerikaner. :DD

Viele eigentümliche Kosenamen (etwa Sascha für Alexander) kommen aus der Kindersprache, wenn die ganz Jungen ihren Namen noch nicht aussprechen können. Da gibt es viele Konsonsntersetzungen und Dreher. Ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass das 'R' in Rick so zu 'D' wird.
Hat das von Euch je jemand so beobachtet???

wor, das könnte stimmen. Kindern fällt die Aussprache des "R"´s besonders schwer, und um den schwierigen zu ersetzen, bedienen sie sich eben eines, den sie leichter aussprechen können.

Übrigens, das Kons-Dingens hätte 'Konsonant' sein sollen.

bedienen sie sich eben eines....BUCHSTABENS natürlich