Vick
Masculine
Vick is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 601 boys against 5 girls since 1880.
Vick is a one-syllable name from the late nineteenth century, a clipped Victor or a surname. A North Carolina pharmacist borrowed the surname for the ointment that has been rubbed on children's chests for well over a century.
How old is the name Vick?
Vick first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Vick alive today was born around 1954, making them about 71 years old. About 300 people named Vick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Vick most popular?
Vick peaked in 1891, reaching #841 nationally. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Vick
In Greensboro, North Carolina, the pharmacist Lunsford Richardson mixed menthol and camphor into a salve for colds and named it after his brother-in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick, whose pharmacy he had worked in; Vicks VapoRub became one of the best-known household remedies in the world. Vick, the name, came from the surname or from Victor shortened. It is short, firm and friendly.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Vick may be Victor clipped or an English surname used as a first name; nothing records which.
Pronouncing Vick
VIK
One syllable.
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1891
- Most boys named
- 195120 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #841reached in 1891
- Change vs 2017
- +16.7%7 in 2024, from 6
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Vicks among us
people named Vick are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Vick sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Short and strong.
- Almost certain to be the only one.
- Easy to spell.
- People will think of the chest rub.
- Some will assume it is short for Victor.
- It reads as an older name.
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What they receive
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Vick
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Vicks are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 300 people named Vick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Vick in 2025?
- Vick is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Vick with classmates?
- Vick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More V names
The most-given names starting with V, all years combined.
Vincent#107 · Victor#209 · Vernon#1382 · Virgil#1409 · Van#970 · Vance#1075 · Vicente#589 · Vaughn#1152
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Vick? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Vick and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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