By RIchard K Munro
My mother had an uncle whose name was Rikard and my grandmother liked the name. But my father objected because it was too exotic and he said the kids in school would call me RETARD. So Rikard was out!
So they agreed to change it to RICHARD after Richard Strauss a favorite composer (my parents were very fond of classical music).
Nonetheless from my earliest boyhood my name was RICKY or RICARDO and yes sometimes I was called RICKY RICARDO.
My father had been an American officer in the Philippines and he taught me basic Spanish and Tagalog as boy for fun. If he called me in Spanish or Tagalog I knew he was calling for me.
Halika dito RICARDO! COME HERE! I heard hundreds of times.
The name Richard itself is probably Celto-Germanic in origin meaning RIC “ruler or king” and HART (hard or brave) or ARD (CELTIC) meaning LOFTY OR MIGHTY. In any case it is an old warrior name.
In Britain it became popular with the advent of the Normans after 1066. Of course, the most famous Richard is Richard I the Lionheart one of the leaders of the Third Crusade.
People who don’t know me call me RICHARD.
People who do usually call me AULD MUNRO or RIC or Ricardo. In baseball and the Marines people called me MOOSE. When I was at UVA everyone called me MOOSE. It was easy to remember.
I much prefer RICARDO to “Reek” (Rick to Spanish speakers).
But I am not very particular. I don’t even mind if people add an E to my surname. As long as the check goes through! I have cashed a lot of checks with MONROE or MUNROE!
When I lived in Spain i subscribed to a Spanish newspaper as RICARDO MUNRO A. (there were spaces for two surnames so I put an A for Anderson my mother’s maiden name!). That was my tongue in check Spanish alias.
Spirit of Cecilia 
You must be logged in to post a comment.