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

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.

Johnson

Johnson is an English and Scottish patronymic surname used as a given name, literally meaning "son of John," where John derives from the Hebrew Yohanan meaning "God is gracious." As a first name it is found in American and African-American naming traditions, where surname-as-first-name is a long-established practice.

Mae

Mae is an English feminine name, primarily a variant of May, associated with the Roman goddess Maia — goddess of spring, growth, and fertility, for whom the month of May was named. Mae also serves as a diminutive for Mary, Margaret, and Mabel. It gained popularity in late Victorian and Edwardian America, giving it a vintage quality that has enjoyed a revival in recent years.

Lawson

Lawson is an English surname used as a masculine given name, a patronymic meaning "son of Lawrence," where Lawrence derives from the Latin Laurentius, referring to someone from Laurentum, a city whose name may come from laurus (laurel). As a given name it is found primarily in English-speaking countries, particularly in the American South and among those honoring family surnames.

Dorothy

Dorothy is the English form of the Greek Dorothea, composed of doron (gift) and theos (God) — thus "gift of God." It is essentially the same name as Theodora with the elements reversed. The name has been in use since the 15th century and became one of the most beloved American names of the early twentieth century, immortalized by L. Frank Baum's Dorothy Gale.

Lauryn

Lauryn is a modern variant of Lauren, an English feminine form derived from the Latin Laurentius (Lawrence), referring to someone from the city of Laurentum in ancient Italy, whose name in turn derives from laurus meaning "laurel." The laurel wreath was the symbol of victory and poetic achievement in ancient Rome.


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