Rick (English)

Where does "Rick" come from?

The given name Rick developed in English as a diminutive of the name Richard[1]. Richard itself traces through Middle English 'Rycharde' and Old French 'Richard' back to Medieval Latin forms like 'Richardus', which stem from the Frankish form '*Rīkahard'[2]. This Frankish form derives from Proto-Germanic '*Rīkaharduz', combining elements meaning 'king, ruler' and 'hard, brave'[2].

Open questions

• A hypothetical Old English equivalent '*Rīċheard' could also yield Richard, but it remains unknown whether this Old English form actually existed. [2]

Full etymology tree

• Rick (English), 'A diminutive of the male given name Richard, or sometimes of related names, such as Ricardo.'
  • derived Richard (English), 'A male given name from the Germanic languages.'
    • inherited Rycharde (Middle English)
      • borrowed Richard (Old French)
        • borrowed Richardus (Latin), 'a male given name, equivalent to English Richard'
          • borrowed *Rīkahard (Frankish)
            • inherited *Rīkaharduz (Proto-Germanic), 'a male given name'
              • compound *rīks (Proto-Germanic), 'king, ruler'
              • compound *harduz (Proto-Germanic), 'hard'
        • borrowed Ricohardus (Medieval Latin)
          • borrowed *Rīkahard (Frankish)
            • inherited *Rīkaharduz (Proto-Germanic), 'a male given name'
              • compound *rīks (Proto-Germanic), 'king, ruler'
              • compound *harduz (Proto-Germanic), 'hard'

Descendants and derived words

• Dick (English)
• Rickie (English)
• rickroll (English)
• rickroll (English)
• Rickson (English)
• Rickster (English)
• Ricky (English)
• Rixon (English)

Related words

• Bill (English)

Sources

1. Rick (English) - Wiktionary
2. Richard (English) - Wiktionary

Updated October 2026

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Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris