Derek

Last seen for girls in 2011 at #16,764 · #284 for boys in 2025, 1,191 births
Given to boys 99.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1980 · 7,240 births
Debut · boys
6 births
In top 100 · boys
26 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
239,060
since 1924

Derek over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201971peak #50, 1980boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025—#2841,191
2024—#2581,357
2023—#2731,240
2022—#2971,156
2021—#3021,095
2020—#3091,063
2019—#3041,115
2018—#2561,409
2017—#2391,546
2016—#2261,716
2015—#2111,885
2014—#2051,881
2013—#2051,875
2012—#1822,116
2011#16,7645#1812,142
2010#14,9596#1702,293
2009—#1682,309
2008—#1592,488
2007—#1422,854
2006—#1592,647
2005#10,12810#1722,420
2004#16,0995#1572,545
2003#12,4087#1492,754
2002—#1392,787
2001#13,5216#1323,007
2000#10,7458#1213,214
1999—#1133,190
1998#8,58410#1103,410
1997#9,0179#1063,672
1996#7,57411#1013,920
1995#6,64113#834,452
1994#5,98415#775,081
1993#7,49811#675,762
1992#5,48417#626,293
1991#5,18118#596,893
1990#5,06018#548,083
1989#2,93137#548,365
1988#2,09355#538,073
1987#1,96257#548,253
1986#2,72435#576,900
1985#2,39841#566,661
1984#2,34041#526,972
1983#1,99351#516,986
1982#2,25044#506,992
1981#2,34242#536,481
1980#1,93655#507,240
1979#3,14726#724,200
1978#3,51221#753,800
1977#3,36622#843,441
1976#3,54019#843,168
1975#4,14115#833,186
1974#3,21221#743,636
1973#3,23320#693,919
1972#3,54317#674,146
1971#2,73626#634,667
1970#3,87215#774,147
1969#4,19812#1092,925
1968#4,00012#1222,460
1967#4,6259#1232,447
1966#5,8096#1412,111
1965#4,8318#1671,801
1964#6,0096#1721,589
1963#4,8968#1771,636
1962#5,2937#1881,600
1961—#2051,405
1960—#2471,047
1959#5,0317#254984
1958—#256917
1957—#283677
1956#5,9525#299614
1955—#330501
1954—#363393
1953—#373338
1952—#364341
1951—#408278
1950—#471202
1949—#641113
1948—#86263
1947—#88961
1946—#98047
1945—#99541
1944—#94946
1943—#71481
1942—#1,22832
1941—#1,63318
1940—#1,20831
1939—#1,39023
1938—#1,52120
1937—#2,4799
1936—#1,20530
1935—#2,24611
1934—#2,39310
1933—#2,21411
1932—#2,19112
1931—#1,84316
1930—#2,17813
1929—#3,5596
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1924—#3,8676
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First appearance
1924

The first year at least five boys were named Derek! It came in at #3,867, and was given to 6 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1925–1928, when fewer than 5 boys a year got the name.

Where Derek is popular in 1971

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #43 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 187 boysAKMaine: #76 for boys · 22 births · 1 in 365 boysMEVermont: #49 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 220 boysVTNew Hampshire: #30 for boys · 59 births · 1 in 97 boysNHWashington: #53 for boys · 107 births · 1 in 237 boysWAIdaho: #83 for boys · 16 births · 1 in 368 boysIDMontana: #61 for boys · 19 births · 1 in 271 boysMTNorth Dakota: #70 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 284 boysNDMinnesota: #50 for boys · 138 births · 1 in 215 boysMNIllinois: #69 for boys · 220 births · 1 in 414 boysILWisconsin: #81 for boys · 76 births · 1 in 446 boysWIMichigan: #47 for boys · 332 births · 1 in 230 boysMINew York: #73 for boys · 295 births · 1 in 465 boysNYMassachusetts: #27 for boys · 431 births · 1 in 99 boysMARhode Island: #34 for boys · 56 births · 1 in 120 boysRIOregon: #49 for boys · 70 births · 1 in 224 boysORNevada: #123 for boys · 6 births · 1 in 623 boysNVWyoming: #87 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 333 boysWYSouth Dakota: #90 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 405 boysSDIowa: #76 for boys · 61 births · 1 in 353 boysIAIndiana: #64 for boys · 129 births · 1 in 355 boysINOhio: #77 for boys · 190 births · 1 in 485 boysOHPennsylvania: #63 for boys · 214 births · 1 in 413 boysPANew Jersey: #87 for boys · 99 births · 1 in 521 boysNJConnecticut: #64 for boys · 55 births · 1 in 375 boysCTCalifornia: #74 for boys · 428 births · 1 in 378 boysCAUtah: #64 for boys · 45 births · 1 in 278 boysUTColorado: #51 for boys · 81 births · 1 in 235 boysCONebraska: #87 for boys · 26 births · 1 in 441 boysNEMissouri: #71 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 394 boysMOKentucky: #95 for boys · 55 births · 1 in 530 boysKYWest Virginia: #139 for boys · 16 births · 1 in 903 boysWVVirginia: #77 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 422 boysVAMaryland: #68 for boys · 67 births · 1 in 395 boysMDDelaware: #98 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 531 boysDEArizona: #76 for boys · 52 births · 1 in 336 boysAZNew Mexico: #136 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 535 boysNMKansas: #75 for boys · 43 births · 1 in 367 boysKSArkansas: #131 for boys · 23 births · 1 in 693 boysARTennessee: #95 for boys · 69 births · 1 in 501 boysTNNorth Carolina: #95 for boys · 99 births · 1 in 450 boysNCSouth Carolina: #120 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 571 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #56 for boys · 42 births · 1 in 257 boysDCOklahoma: #94 for boys · 49 births · 1 in 413 boysOKLouisiana: #99 for boys · 82 births · 1 in 404 boysLAMississippi: #135 for boys · 31 births · 1 in 688 boysMSAlabama: #93 for boys · 68 births · 1 in 444 boysALGeorgia: #96 for boys · 95 births · 1 in 462 boysGAHawaii: #51 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 195 boysHITexas: #126 for boys · 211 births · 1 in 541 boysTXFlorida: #74 for boys · 139 births · 1 in 387 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. Massachusetts#27 · 1 in 99
  2. New Hampshire#30 · 1 in 97
  3. Rhode Island#34 · 1 in 120
  4. Alaska#43 · 1 in 187
  5. Michigan#47 · 1 in 230

Best ever in a state: #22 in South Dakota, 1987.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Massachusetts#274311 in 99
New Hampshire#30591 in 97
Rhode Island#34561 in 120
Alaska#43171 in 187
Michigan#473321 in 230
Oregon#49701 in 224
Vermont#49151 in 220
Minnesota#501381 in 215
Colorado#51811 in 235
Hawaii#51321 in 195
Washington#531071 in 237
District of Columbia#56421 in 257
Montana#61191 in 271
Pennsylvania#632141 in 413
Connecticut#64551 in 375
Indiana#641291 in 355
Utah#64451 in 278
Maryland#68671 in 395
Illinois#692201 in 414
North Dakota#70171 in 284
Missouri#71971 in 394
New York#732951 in 465
California#744281 in 378
Florida#741391 in 387
Kansas#75431 in 367
Arizona#76521 in 336
Iowa#76611 in 353
Maine#76221 in 365
Ohio#771901 in 485
Virginia#77871 in 422
Wisconsin#81761 in 446
Idaho#83161 in 368
Nebraska#87261 in 441
New Jersey#87991 in 521
Wyoming#8771 in 333
South Dakota#90121 in 405
Alabama#93681 in 444
Oklahoma#94491 in 413
Kentucky#95551 in 530
North Carolina#95991 in 450
Tennessee#95691 in 501
Georgia#96951 in 462
Delaware#9881 in 531
Louisiana#99821 in 404
South Carolina#120411 in 571
Nevada#12361 in 623
Texas#1262111 in 541
Arkansas#131231 in 693
Mississippi#135311 in 688
New Mexico#136181 in 535
West Virginia#139161 in 903

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the boys born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Derek
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 26 spots since 2024 (#258 → #284)
  • 25 spots since 2020 (#309 → #284)
  • 73 spots since 2015 (#211 → #284)
  • Biggest jump: 514 spots in 1943 (#1,228 → #714)
  • Biggest drop: 235 spots in 1944 (#714 → #949)
Rise & fade · boys
56 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1924
  • Peaked 1980 at #50 (7,240 births)
  • Births halved by 1998, 18 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 26 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 26 yrs · run 1970–1995
  • Top 1,000: 83 yrs · run 1943–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 226
  • Highest: 1 in 226 boys born in 1987 were named Derek (0.44%)
  • Latest: 1 in 1,434 boys born in 2025 (0.07%)
  • Its best rank, #50 in 1980, was only 1 in 246 (0.41%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1980s
  • 30.5% of all boys named Derek (72,923) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1920s12#3,559 (1929)#3,713
1930s155#1,205 (1936)#1,966
1940s533#641 (1949)#1,010
1950s5,245#254 (1959)#340
1960s19,021#109 (1969)#165
1970s38,310#63 (1971)#75
1980s72,923#50 (1980)#53
1990s50,756#54 (1990)#83
2000s27,025#121 (2000)#150
2010s17,978#170 (2010)#218
2020s7,102#258 (2024)#287

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Derek in 1971

girls
#2,736
26 births · 1 in 63,993 girls
boys
#63
4,667 births · 1 in 379 boys

Top girls' names in 1971

  1. #1Jennifer56,771
  2. #2Michelle33,160
  3. #3Lisa32,907
  4. #4Kimberly30,708
  5. #5Amy26,237
  6. #6Angela25,901
  7. #7Melissa23,875
  8. #8Tammy17,656
  9. #9Mary16,703
  10. #10Julie15,322
  11. #2,736Derek26

Top boys' names in 1971

  1. #1Michael77,577
  2. #2James54,597
  3. #3David53,113
  4. #4John51,512
  5. #5Robert50,634
  6. #6Christopher48,225
  7. #7William35,413
  8. #8Jason34,173
  9. #9Brian32,624
  10. #10Scott30,901
  11. #63Derek4,667
More about 1971

girls

1,663,823 girls got a published name in 1971; 1 in 63,993 of them was named Derek, which outranked 71.6% of the 9,645 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 16.8% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #2,665Walter27
  2. #2,665Xiomara27
  3. #2,665Yael27
  4. #2,736Derek26
  5. #2,736Adam26
  6. #2,736Adriene26
  7. #2,736Amity26
  8. #2,801Agatha25
  9. #2,801Alaine25
  10. #2,801Aline25

Tied with 64 names at #2,736; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1970
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,115Yesenia#2,522 → #407
  2. ↑ 1,431Shayla#2,267 → #836
  3. ↑ 853Ebony#1,681 → #828
  4. ↑ 749Consuela#1,706 → #957
  5. ↑ 510Candida#1,196 → #686
Fallers
  1. ↓ 572Sebrina#916 → #1,488
  2. ↓ 382Janene#684 → #1,066
  3. ↓ 375Treena#989 → #1,364
  4. ↓ 356Tisa#910 → #1,266
  5. ↓ 351Shaun#929 → #1,280

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,768,447 boys got a published name in 1971; 1 in 379 of them was named Derek, which outranked 98.9% of the 5,655 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 26.5% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #60Shane5,093
  2. #61Travis5,016
  3. #62Tony4,889
  4. #63Derek4,667
  5. #64Russell4,545
  6. #65Marcus4,410
  7. #66Samuel4,407
Biggest movers since 1970
Risers
  1. ↑ 754Germaine#1,582 → #828
  2. ↑ 626Jeramie#1,546 → #920
  3. ↑ 512Jeremey#1,396 → #884
  4. ↑ 473Jarod#1,337 → #864
  5. ↑ 454Jamel#1,374 → #920
Fallers
  1. ↓ 328Adolph#926 → #1,254
  2. ↓ 272Dwane#1,000 → #1,272
  3. ↓ 266Bronson#861 → #1,127
  4. ↓ 244Mitch#921 → #1,165
  5. ↓ 242Enrico#839 → #1,081

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1971 →