Last updated: March 2026

Character Name

Rick

Meaning — Rick is an English masculine given name, typically a short form of Richard (from Old French Ricard, composed of Germanic elements meaning "powerful ruler") or of Frederick. As an independent given name it became popular in twentieth-century North America, carrying an informal, approachable quality.·English origin·Male·RIK

Rick Rick is quintessentially American and twentieth-century — the name of the common man who has seen too much and cares more than he lets on. Characters named Rick tend to project nonchalant competence while concealing a deeper moral seriousness, in the tradition of Casablanca's unforgettable protagonist.

Best genres for Rick

Contemporary FictionThrillerCrime FictionLiterary Fiction

Famous characters named Rick

Rick Blaine

Casablanca (screenplay) Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch

The cynical, world-weary American expatriate café owner whose buried idealism is reawakened by the arrival of his former lover in wartime Casablanca.


Variations & nicknames

RickRichRickyRicRichard

Pairs well with

Rick HarmonRick CallowayRick DonovanRick BrennanRick WhitfieldRick Tanner

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More English names

Curtis

Curtis is an English masculine name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin, derived from the Old French curteis meaning "courteous," "well-bred," or "refined," itself from cort (court) combined with a suffix implying courtly manners. It was a name given to those associated with noble courts and their refined social codes.

Ethyl

Ethyl is an English feminine name, a variant of Ethel, which is derived from the Old English element æthel meaning "noble" — the same root as in names like Audrey (Æthelthryth) and Alfred (Ælfred). Ethel/Ethyl was popular as a given name in Victorian and Edwardian England and America, carrying connotations of old-fashioned nobility and dignified domesticity.

Queen

Queen is an English feminine given name derived directly from the common noun queen, from Old English cwen meaning "woman," "wife," or "queen." As a given name it appears in African-American naming traditions as both a title-name and an expression of dignity and majesty. It may also originate as a shortening of the surname MacQueen.

Chasity

Chasity is an English feminine name, a variant spelling of Chastity, derived from the Latin castitas meaning "purity" or "moral cleanness." It may also reflect a blend of the virtue names Charity and Chastity, and gained wider usage in American English during the twentieth century.

Abigayle

Abigayle is a variant spelling of Abigail, a Hebrew feminine name meaning "my father is joy" or "father's joy," from the elements av (father) and gil (joy). In the Old Testament, Abigail was the name of the wise and beautiful wife of David who averted conflict through diplomatic intervention.

Mallory

Mallory is an English surname used as a given name, derived from the Old French maleüré meaning "ill-fated" or "unfortunate," from malheur (misfortune). It was a Norman surname brought to England after the Conquest, most famously associated with Sir Thomas Malory, author of Le Morte d'Arthur. As a given name it is used particularly in American English.


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