My dad was a Richard that went by Dick, he was born in 1924. My brother is Richard Bert, born in 1955, and he is a HUGE jerk. My first ex was Dennis Richard W... The father of my children and second ex is Richard who goes by Dick, he was born in 1952. . I had a long term BF that was a Richard who went by Rich born in 1960 Now I tend to avoid anyone with Richard as any part of their name. And I don't know how Dick ever became a nickname for Richard, but I can't count the number of times I've referred to my current ex as Dickhead. He's a conservative uber religious bore.