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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201985peak #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 1985

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #52 for boys · 28 births · 1 in 180 boysAKMaine: #33 for boys · 75 births · 1 in 96 boysMEVermont: #70 for boys · 11 births · 1 in 302 boysVTNew Hampshire: #42 for boys · 53 births · 1 in 129 boysNHWashington: #45 for boys · 188 births · 1 in 168 boysWAIdaho: #46 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 154 boysIDMontana: #47 for boys · 35 births · 1 in 158 boysMTNorth Dakota: #29 for boys · 63 births · 1 in 88 boysNDMinnesota: #43 for boys · 236 births · 1 in 134 boysMNIllinois: #52 for boys · 314 births · 1 in 262 boysILWisconsin: #46 for boys · 197 births · 1 in 173 boysWIMichigan: #48 for boys · 345 births · 1 in 189 boysMINew York: #69 for boys · 303 births · 1 in 399 boysNYMassachusetts: #40 for boys · 264 births · 1 in 148 boysMARhode Island: #30 for boys · 60 births · 1 in 99 boysRIOregon: #55 for boys · 86 births · 1 in 212 boysORNevada: #75 for boys · 17 births · 1 in 364 boysNVWyoming: #52 for boys · 20 births · 1 in 173 boysWYSouth Dakota: #46 for boys · 37 births · 1 in 138 boysSDIowa: #43 for boys · 130 births · 1 in 149 boysIAIndiana: #52 for boys · 192 births · 1 in 196 boysINOhio: #54 for boys · 302 births · 1 in 255 boysOHPennsylvania: #59 for boys · 278 births · 1 in 277 boysPANew Jersey: #72 for boys · 110 births · 1 in 423 boysNJConnecticut: #53 for boys · 72 births · 1 in 277 boysCTCalifornia: #79 for boys · 577 births · 1 in 387 boysCAUtah: #53 for boys · 92 births · 1 in 185 boysUTColorado: #49 for boys · 136 births · 1 in 185 boysCONebraska: #44 for boys · 74 births · 1 in 158 boysNEMissouri: #53 for boys · 171 births · 1 in 216 boysMOKentucky: #47 for boys · 130 births · 1 in 191 boysKYWest Virginia: #46 for boys · 66 births · 1 in 175 boysWVVirginia: #56 for boys · 133 births · 1 in 284 boysVAMaryland: #64 for boys · 88 births · 1 in 315 boysMDDelaware: #71 for boys · 10 births · 1 in 402 boysDEArizona: #65 for boys · 92 births · 1 in 288 boysAZNew Mexico: #66 for boys · 43 births · 1 in 270 boysNMKansas: #52 for boys · 93 births · 1 in 187 boysKSArkansas: #56 for boys · 64 births · 1 in 238 boysARTennessee: #57 for boys · 118 births · 1 in 273 boysTNNorth Carolina: #60 for boys · 127 births · 1 in 319 boysNCSouth Carolina: #74 for boys · 54 births · 1 in 396 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #79 for boys · 21 births · 1 in 368 boysDCOklahoma: #55 for boys · 106 births · 1 in 223 boysOKLouisiana: #55 for boys · 152 births · 1 in 236 boysLAMississippi: #73 for boys · 50 births · 1 in 347 boysMSAlabama: #77 for boys · 61 births · 1 in 419 boysALGeorgia: #68 for boys · 112 births · 1 in 386 boysGAHawaii: #57 for boys · 28 births · 1 in 244 boysHITexas: #78 for boys · 378 births · 1 in 389 boysTXFlorida: #65 for boys · 222 births · 1 in 336 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. North Dakota#29 · 1 in 88
  2. Rhode Island#30 · 1 in 99
  3. Maine#33 · 1 in 96
  4. Massachusetts#40 · 1 in 148
  5. New Hampshire#42 · 1 in 129

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
North Dakota#29631 in 88
Rhode Island#30601 in 99
Maine#33751 in 96
Massachusetts#402641 in 148
New Hampshire#42531 in 129
Iowa#431301 in 149
Minnesota#432361 in 134
Nebraska#44741 in 158
Washington#451881 in 168
Idaho#46471 in 154
South Dakota#46371 in 138
West Virginia#46661 in 175
Wisconsin#461971 in 173
Kentucky#471301 in 191
Montana#47351 in 158
Michigan#483451 in 189
Colorado#491361 in 185
Alaska#52281 in 180
Illinois#523141 in 262
Indiana#521921 in 196
Kansas#52931 in 187
Wyoming#52201 in 173
Connecticut#53721 in 277
Missouri#531711 in 216
Utah#53921 in 185
Ohio#543021 in 255
Louisiana#551521 in 236
Oklahoma#551061 in 223
Oregon#55861 in 212
Arkansas#56641 in 238
Virginia#561331 in 284
Hawaii#57281 in 244
Tennessee#571181 in 273
Pennsylvania#592781 in 277
North Carolina#601271 in 319
Maryland#64881 in 315
Arizona#65921 in 288
Florida#652221 in 336
New Mexico#66431 in 270
Georgia#681121 in 386
New York#693031 in 399
Vermont#70111 in 302
Delaware#71101 in 402
New Jersey#721101 in 423
Mississippi#73501 in 347
South Carolina#74541 in 396
Nevada#75171 in 364
Alabama#77611 in 419
Texas#783781 in 389
California#795771 in 387
District of Columbia#79211 in 368

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 1985

girls
#2,398
41 births · 1 in 41,971 girls
boys
#56
6,661 births · 1 in 277 boys

Top girls' names in 1985

  1. #1Jessica48,345
  2. #2Ashley47,010
  3. #3Jennifer42,661
  4. #4Amanda39,055
  5. #5Sarah24,879
  6. #6Stephanie23,243
  7. #7Nicole22,966
  8. #8Heather21,151
  9. #9Elizabeth20,545
  10. #10Megan20,013
  11. #2,398Derek41

Top boys' names in 1985

  1. #1Michael64,934
  2. #2Christopher59,609
  3. #3Matthew47,075
  4. #4Joshua42,194
  5. #5Daniel38,559
  6. #6David38,522
  7. #7James35,862
  8. #8Robert32,094
  9. #9John31,502
  10. #10Joseph30,222
  11. #56Derek6,661
More about 1985

girls

1,720,828 girls got a published name in 1985; 1 in 41,971 of them was named Derek, which outranked 80.8% of the 12,505 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.0% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #2,362Sherelle42
  2. #2,362Toccara42
  3. #2,362Tomi42
  4. #2,398Derek41
  5. #2,398Adriene41
  6. #2,398Aiesha41
  7. #2,398Alea41
  8. #2,440Akia40
  9. #2,440Aletha40
  10. #2,440Annalise40

Tied with 41 names at #2,398; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1984
Risers
  1. ↑ 7,360Kayleigh#8,153 → #793
  2. ↑ 1,675Madison#2,299 → #624
  3. ↑ 1,167Cierra#1,633 → #466
  4. ↑ 1,002Ciera#1,703 → #701
  5. ↑ 787Krystina#1,332 → #545
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,164Grisel#784 → #1,948
  2. ↓ 893Ciji#963 → #1,856
  3. ↓ 419Falon#914 → #1,333
  4. ↓ 364Alesia#969 → #1,333
  5. ↓ 362Echo#845 → #1,207

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

boys

1,848,210 boys got a published name in 1985; 1 in 277 of them was named Derek, which outranked 99.3% of the 7,586 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 22.8% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #53Bradley7,011
  2. #54Samuel7,009
  3. #55Shawn6,982
  4. #56Derek6,661
  5. #57Chad6,466
  6. #58Jared5,883
  7. #59Edward5,869
Biggest movers since 1984
Risers
  1. ↑ 2,425Jaymes#3,270 → #845
  2. ↑ 977Trace#1,933 → #956
  3. ↑ 933Durrell#1,656 → #723
  4. ↑ 793Durell#1,399 → #606
  5. ↑ 562Brandyn#1,444 → #882
Fallers
  1. ↓ 420Anwar#951 → #1,371
  2. ↓ 345Zebulon#976 → #1,321
  3. ↓ 303Tavares#925 → #1,228
  4. ↓ 250Alonso#931 → #1,181
  5. ↓ 228Abdul#1,000 → #1,228

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

See the top 100 for 1985 →