How popular is the name Derek?

Derek ranks 87th among boys' names in US records, with 412,244 births since 1917. Over the past decade it accounts for 21,227.

Is Derek a unisex name?

No. Derek is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.

1989, when 12,555 children were given the name. It has been in use for 108 years and is still recorded as of 2024.

Derrick, Derick, Derik, Deryck. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.

Boy name#87 of boy names

Pronounced D EH1 R IH0 K (ARPABET)

Derek is a boys' name, and first appears in 1917. It has been given to 412,244 children — the 87th most common boys' name on record.

It has been slipping, down 47% on the previous decade. Its best single year was 1989, when 12,555 children were given it.

Four other spellings are counted in that total — Derrick, Derick, Derik and one more — because they are pronounced identically.

198912,555

These spellings sound identical to Derek and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

Phonetic detail

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

How popular is the name Derek?: Derek ranks 87th among boys' names in US records, with 412,244 births since 1917. Over the past decade it accounts for 21,227.
Is Derek a unisex name?: No. Derek is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Derek most popular?: 1989, when 12,555 children were given the name. It has been in use for 108 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Derek spelled?: Derrick, Derick, Derik, Deryck. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.