Looking back in American history, it seems like the name Dick was at least as popular as John, if not moreso, at least for a time. Now nobody goes by Dick. Did calling a penis a "dick" not happen until very recently?
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there have been a few discussions on slang terms like "dick"; there's room for more info, but these are a good start
answer by /u/yodatsracist in the Friday Free-for-All | June 27, 2014
more from /u/yodatsracist wrt "jock" and related words in Happy 3rd Birthday /r/AskHistorians! To celebrate this momentous occasion, you may be jocular in this thread.
What profanities and euphanisms from modern times existed back in the early 1900s and even earlier?
p.s. questions like these are actually etymology questions, so would be worth x-posting to (or just searching) /r/etymology
This is a question better suited for /r/linguistics or /r/etymology (although the latter is often full of lay men peddling bullshit urban legends) but I will add that "Dick" as a nickname for "Richard" is attested since the 1550s. It is rhyming slang (rhymes with Rick), as with "Bob" for Robert; many common English nicknames originated via this pattern.
"Dick" meaning penis is attested from 1891 from the Farmer's Slang dictionary, so it's not that new.