As best as I can determine, going back to the Middle Ages, there weren't that many first names yet. And so many people were named Richard that everyone needed nicknames to tell one another apart. Richard was shortened to Rick, and then people would rhyme it with something else to become an entirely new name — so Rick became Dick. And then the modern trend of being dirty little pervs meant that everyone today giggles when they hear of a guy named Dick. As a matter of fact, I once worked with a young Filipino woman who refused to call me "Dick" because it was "too embarrassing".
Then there's John = Jack: They have the same number of letters! How does that save any time? There are multiple theories about this nickname, but here's the most likely one: Back in the 11th and 12th centuries, the Normans would have pronounced "John" as "Jen." They also added "-kin" to the ends of names as nicknames. So, Jen turned into Jenkin, which eventually turned into Jakin, and finally into Jack.
Jack, incidentally, was also the name given to a young boy doing apprentice work in the middle ages, hence the phrase "Jack of all trades". Several jobs children could hold were also referred to as Jacks, for instance if you are a blacksmith and when you use your hand-cranked blower on the forge you have to decide who is the blower jack.... not sure if the name preceded the term or vice versa , or parallel development.
Francis = Frank: Now here's one that can drive you crazy if your are a researcher, because Francis and Frances are often mistakenly used interchangeably. Francis is a male name and Frances is female. While Frank is a given name in its own right, in fact reflecting the Old Frankish form *Frank, the given name in the United States arose again in the 20th century as a short form of Francis (which is itself a shortening of Franciscus, i.e. "the Frenchman", in reference to Saint Francis of Assisi), as popularized by singer Frank Sinatra born Francis Albert Sinatra, 1915–1998).
William = Bill: William was also a popular name in the Middle Ages when so many nicknames were born. It was shortened to Will, which turned into Bill.
Rhyming nicknames strike again!
Nancy = Ann: Why is the short form of Ann (or Anne) actually longer than the original name? People used to use the affectionate phrase "mine Ann," which eventually turned into "my Nan." Nickname trends of the time also had people adding "-cy" to the ends of name, which is how Ann evolved into Nancy.
Edward = Ted/Ed: As for Ted, just as Richard and William were popular names, Edward was a very common name that required nicknames to be created. With names that start with vowels, people often added an easy-to-pronounce consonant, so Ed became Ted.
Nellie = Helen: Yep, Nellie is similar to Ned and Nancy. Since, depending on your accent, the H in Helen might be silent or difficult to say, it was dropped and "mine Helen" turned into "my Nell" and then into "my Nellie."
Elizabeth = Buffy: Now there's a weird one...There aren't even any F's in "Elizabeth"! Come on! But in this case, it's a nickname based on how a child might pronounce the final syllable — Elizabeth becomes Beth, which becomes Buff, and then becomes Buffy. (So, yes, the full title of the show should have been Elizabeth the Vampire Slayer.)
Hank = Henry: No one is entirely sure how this came to be, but a popular theory is that the name Hendrick is the Dutch version of Henry" Then, Henk became a nickname for Hendrick, so English people borrowed it and eventually it became Hank.
Chuck = Charles: This one's a little simpler: In Middle English, Charles was actually Chukken. (Yes, really.)
So, as I say, this can all prove to be problematic for anyone engaged in research for history and genealogy purposes. Generally, legal documents such as birth and marriage certificates show formal original names while obituaries and press reports often go with abbreviated names more common in everyday use for an individual. No denying this can be a confusing matter and can slow down the research process.
Personally, however, the name Dick feels quite natural and comfortable to me, I have lived with it all my life, but I don't want to go down in history as being a "Dick". Some people would just not understand that Richard was also a Dick.
Wait!...That doesn't sound right either, does it?
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