# Are there any young Dicks anymore? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 13, 2019, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077 "2019-03-13T16:24:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/61 "2019-03-15T22:39:56Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I once met a guy named Dick Pounder. My old insurance agent shared his office with a man named Dick Cox. I’m guessing it was good for business, having a memorable name. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2019, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/62 "2019-03-15T22:42:53Z")
> [@Serenata67](#): > > There are 4 generations of Richards in my family. The patriarch went by Dick. His son and grandson both go by Rich. The youngest goes by Richie. All hated the name Rick or Ricky. The big reason why the Richard of my generation (the third) is adamant to go by Rich is because the middle name that goes along with that first name from generation to generation is Edward. As in, his name would be Dick Ed. As in, the football team figured that out and called him that every day at practice for a couple years. And he was a popular kid! > > ETA: the patriarch was often called “Big Dick” once his son was born. His son was unfortunately called “Little Dick.” He very quickly started going by Rich. No “Medium Dick” somewhere in there? 😛 In the pre-penicillin days, the Dick Test, invented by Drs. George and Gladys Dick in the 1920s, was a common way to determine susceptibility to scarlet fever. > **[Definition of DICK TEST](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Dick%20test)** > > a test to determine susceptibility or immunity to scarlet fever by an injection of scarlet fever toxin… See the full definition So, imagine your son having a negative Dick test…:o ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/63 "2019-03-16T02:09:16Z")
I have a cousin who is 55 and he is the only Richard I know. He has always gone by his legal name, no Dick, Rich, Rick, or anything else. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2019, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/64 "2019-03-16T02:43:43Z")
There was a guy I was acquaintanced with whose name was Dick Whithers. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/65 "2019-03-17T10:39:43Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Isn’t Dick a fairly common legal name in some European country? IIRC, it’s the Netherlands, and “Bob” is also a common name. Not some Dutch version of Richard or Robert, literally Dick and Bob. Dick Advocaat is quite famous in football I think, and he’s Dutch. Sounds like a revolting Christmas prank. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2019, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077/66 "2019-03-17T23:33:51Z")
I suspect that Richards of my father’s generation (early Boomers) were the last to opt for “Dick” on a wide scale. I was named after my dad’s best friend in high school, and he went by Dick. I went to school with plenty of other Richards, and every one of us went by “Rich” or “Rick/Ric/Rik”, or stuck with “Richard”. The slang connotations of “Dick” have only gotten stronger since I was in school, so I’d be really surprised to come across somebody younger than I am using “Dick” un-ironically. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-young-dicks-anymore/831077.md?page=3)