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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201974peak #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 1974

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #79 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 382 boysAKMaine: #46 for boys · 41 births · 1 in 159 boysMEVermont: #76 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 379 boysVTNew Hampshire: #35 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 108 boysNHWashington: #67 for boys · 69 births · 1 in 331 boysWAIdaho: #92 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 429 boysIDMontana: #107 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 463 boysMTNorth Dakota: #56 for boys · 21 births · 1 in 217 boysNDMinnesota: #62 for boys · 97 births · 1 in 273 boysMNIllinois: #69 for boys · 205 births · 1 in 382 boysILWisconsin: #72 for boys · 88 births · 1 in 349 boysWIMichigan: #55 for boys · 233 births · 1 in 275 boysMINew York: #77 for boys · 228 births · 1 in 501 boysNYMassachusetts: #37 for boys · 243 births · 1 in 140 boysMARhode Island: #48 for boys · 25 births · 1 in 203 boysRIOregon: #74 for boys · 38 births · 1 in 394 boysORNevada: #85 for boys · 9 births · 1 in 373 boysNVWyoming: #64 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 243 boysWYSouth Dakota: #114 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 578 boysSDIowa: #74 for boys · 50 births · 1 in 381 boysIAIndiana: #61 for boys · 133 births · 1 in 297 boysINOhio: #80 for boys · 156 births · 1 in 499 boysOHPennsylvania: #76 for boys · 153 births · 1 in 479 boysPANew Jersey: #77 for boys · 87 births · 1 in 492 boysNJConnecticut: #76 for boys · 36 births · 1 in 461 boysCTCalifornia: #100 for boys · 302 births · 1 in 498 boysCAUtah: #76 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 391 boysUTColorado: #69 for boys · 49 births · 1 in 371 boysCONebraska: #106 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 609 boysNEMissouri: #73 for boys · 89 births · 1 in 379 boysMOKentucky: #98 for boys · 46 births · 1 in 562 boysKYWest Virginia: #180 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 1,601 boysWVVirginia: #79 for boys · 71 births · 1 in 441 boysVAMaryland: #76 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 443 boysMDDelaware: #97 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 482 boysDEArizona: #111 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 563 boysAZNew Mexico: #135 for boys · 15 births · 1 in 605 boysNMKansas: #71 for boys · 42 births · 1 in 335 boysKSArkansas: #122 for boys · 24 births · 1 in 648 boysARTennessee: #90 for boys · 70 births · 1 in 446 boysTNNorth Carolina: #78 for boys · 95 births · 1 in 409 boysNCSouth Carolina: #133 for boys · 31 births · 1 in 672 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #55 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 226 boysDCOklahoma: #93 for boys · 44 births · 1 in 423 boysOKLouisiana: #99 for boys · 67 births · 1 in 440 boysLAMississippi: #131 for boys · 27 births · 1 in 691 boysMSAlabama: #100 for boys · 58 births · 1 in 456 boysALGeorgia: #91 for boys · 84 births · 1 in 454 boysGAHawaii: #69 for boys · 21 births · 1 in 283 boysHITexas: #134 for boys · 173 births · 1 in 611 boysTXFlorida: #77 for boys · 129 births · 1 in 393 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. New Hampshire#35 · 1 in 108
  2. Massachusetts#37 · 1 in 140
  3. Maine#46 · 1 in 159
  4. Rhode Island#48 · 1 in 203
  5. District of Columbia#55 · 1 in 226

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
New Hampshire#35471 in 108
Massachusetts#372431 in 140
Maine#46411 in 159
Rhode Island#48251 in 203
District of Columbia#55351 in 226
Michigan#552331 in 275
North Dakota#56211 in 217
Indiana#611331 in 297
Minnesota#62971 in 273
Wyoming#64101 in 243
Washington#67691 in 331
Colorado#69491 in 371
Hawaii#69211 in 283
Illinois#692051 in 382
Kansas#71421 in 335
Wisconsin#72881 in 349
Missouri#73891 in 379
Iowa#74501 in 381
Oregon#74381 in 394
Connecticut#76361 in 461
Maryland#76471 in 443
Pennsylvania#761531 in 479
Utah#76351 in 391
Vermont#7671 in 379
Florida#771291 in 393
New Jersey#77871 in 492
New York#772281 in 501
North Carolina#78951 in 409
Alaska#7971 in 382
Virginia#79711 in 441
Ohio#801561 in 499
Nevada#8591 in 373
Tennessee#90701 in 446
Georgia#91841 in 454
Idaho#92151 in 429
Oklahoma#93441 in 423
Delaware#9771 in 482
Kentucky#98461 in 562
Louisiana#99671 in 440
Alabama#100581 in 456
California#1003021 in 498
Nebraska#106181 in 609
Montana#107111 in 463
Arizona#111321 in 563
South Dakota#11481 in 578
Arkansas#122241 in 648
Mississippi#131271 in 691
South Carolina#133311 in 672
Texas#1341731 in 611
New Mexico#135151 in 605
West Virginia#18081 in 1,601

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 1974

girls
#3,212
21 births · 1 in 69,883 girls
boys
#74
3,636 births · 1 in 432 boys

Top girls' names in 1974

  1. #1Jennifer63,107
  2. #2Amy29,566
  3. #3Michelle25,826
  4. #4Heather23,179
  5. #5Angela22,803
  6. #6Kimberly22,427
  7. #7Melissa22,166
  8. #8Lisa19,778
  9. #9Stephanie16,984
  10. #10Rebecca15,163
  11. #3,212Derek21

Top boys' names in 1974

  1. #1Michael67,534
  2. #2Jason54,756
  3. #3Christopher48,585
  4. #4David41,786
  5. #5James41,334
  6. #6John37,612
  7. #7Robert37,005
  8. #8Brian34,449
  9. #9Matthew27,194
  10. #10William26,980
  11. #74Derek3,636
More about 1974

girls

1,467,534 girls got a published name in 1974; 1 in 69,883 of them was named Derek, which outranked 68.7% of the 10,247 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 17.8% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #3,110Wonda22
  2. #3,110Wynona22
  3. #3,110Yashika22
  4. #3,212Derek21
  5. #3,212Alane21
  6. #3,212Alayna21
  7. #3,212Aline21
  8. #3,313Afrika20
  9. #3,313Aime20
  10. #3,313Alica20

Tied with 100 names at #3,212; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1973
Risers
  1. ↑ 6,440Nakia#6,666 → #226
  2. ↑ 5,329Nikia#6,080 → #751
  3. ↑ 1,994Luciana#2,914 → #920
  4. ↑ 1,556Cortney#2,349 → #793
  5. ↑ 1,213Nia#1,885 → #672
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,251Contina#962 → #2,213
  2. ↓ 396Pam#990 → #1,386
  3. ↓ 376Tracee#536 → #912
  4. ↓ 364Cher#760 → #1,124
  5. ↓ 314Richard#904 → #1,218

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

boys

1,572,334 boys got a published name in 1974; 1 in 432 of them was named Derek, which outranked 98.8% of the 6,004 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. #71Carlos3,871
  2. #72Rodney3,849
  3. #73Marcus3,801
  4. #74Derek3,636
  5. #75Joel3,491
  6. #76Brent3,413
  7. #77Corey3,382
Biggest movers since 1973
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,544Rashad#4,505 → #961
  2. ↑ 844Telly#1,312 → #468
  3. ↑ 398Jabari#1,312 → #914
  4. ↑ 356Ahmad#1,123 → #767
  5. ↑ 356Toma#1,238 → #882
Fallers
  1. ↓ 383Parrish#987 → #1,370
  2. ↓ 378Fredric#957 → #1,335
  3. ↓ 346Jory#753 → #1,099
  4. ↓ 301Vidal#834 → #1,135
  5. ↓ 277Pat#847 → #1,124

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

See the top 100 for 1974 →