How Many People Are Named Derek?
people named Derek are alive in the United States today (estimate)
About 1 in 1,523 people in the US has this name
Based on 239,969 babies named Derek in Social Security records from 1924 to 2025, and the share of each birth year still alive in 2025.
Popularity Rank
⭐ Uncommon
Peak Year
8,402 births
Trend
Stable (last 10 years)
📖 Name Origin & Meaning
Meaning:
From the older English name Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of THEODORIC. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century.
Source of the meaning, origin, pronunciation and related names: Behind the Name.
Same Sound, Other Spellings
These names are pronounced like Derek in English. Counting Derek and these spellings together, about 377,012 people alive in the US have the name.
⚧ Gender Distribution
Almost all of the babies given the name Derek (99.6%) were boys.
👥 Age Distribution
The average person named Derek alive today is about 36 years old, and 66% are between 30 and 59. Half of them were between 27 and 45 in 2025.
📈 Popularity Over Time
Derek first appears in the records in 1924 and was given most often in 1989, to 8,402 babies. In 2025, 1,191 babies got the name.
Babies given the name each year, 1924 to 2025
🏆 Rank History
Derek never made the top 10 boys' names. Its best rank was #50, in 1980 and 1982, and it was in the top 100 for 26 years, 1970 to 1995. In 2025 it ranked #284.
| Boys | |
|---|---|
| Rank in 2025 | #284 |
| Best rank | #50 (1980 and 1982) |
| Years in the top 100 | 26 (1970 to 1995) |
| Rank in its biggest decade | #53 in the 1980s |
📍 State-Wise Distribution
People named Derek alive today, by the state where they were born (estimate; state records start in 1910).
More people named Derek were born in California than in any other state: about 25,022 of those alive today. Compared with the national rate in the same years, Derek was given 1.8 times as often in Hawaii, 1.8 times in Rhode Island and 1.7 times in Massachusetts.
Look up another name
⊙ We don't save the names you search.