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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201986peak #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 1986

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #52 for boys · 29 births · 1 in 164 boysAKMaine: #39 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 117 boysMEVermont: #67 for boys · 12 births · 1 in 277 boysVTNew Hampshire: #45 for boys · 50 births · 1 in 140 boysNHWashington: #44 for boys · 184 births · 1 in 170 boysWAIdaho: #52 for boys · 40 births · 1 in 170 boysIDMontana: #53 for boys · 30 births · 1 in 174 boysMTNorth Dakota: #36 for boys · 45 births · 1 in 115 boysNDMinnesota: #45 for boys · 215 births · 1 in 143 boysMNIllinois: #55 for boys · 299 births · 1 in 267 boysILWisconsin: #46 for boys · 204 births · 1 in 163 boysWIMichigan: #52 for boys · 301 births · 1 in 212 boysMINew York: #71 for boys · 310 births · 1 in 394 boysNYMassachusetts: #46 for boys · 194 births · 1 in 202 boysMARhode Island: #38 for boys · 50 births · 1 in 120 boysRIOregon: #48 for boys · 102 births · 1 in 176 boysORNevada: #57 for boys · 27 births · 1 in 236 boysNVWyoming: #51 for boys · 18 births · 1 in 173 boysWYSouth Dakota: #42 for boys · 34 births · 1 in 141 boysSDIowa: #47 for boys · 115 births · 1 in 158 boysIAIndiana: #44 for boys · 235 births · 1 in 157 boysINOhio: #54 for boys · 337 births · 1 in 224 boysOHPennsylvania: #55 for boys · 329 births · 1 in 235 boysPANew Jersey: #77 for boys · 106 births · 1 in 449 boysNJConnecticut: #58 for boys · 67 births · 1 in 303 boysCTCalifornia: #77 for boys · 611 births · 1 in 374 boysCAUtah: #50 for boys · 108 births · 1 in 153 boysUTColorado: #49 for boys · 134 births · 1 in 188 boysCONebraska: #51 for boys · 66 births · 1 in 168 boysNEMissouri: #48 for boys · 192 births · 1 in 187 boysMOKentucky: #45 for boys · 137 births · 1 in 175 boysKYWest Virginia: #37 for boys · 90 births · 1 in 123 boysWVVirginia: #51 for boys · 170 births · 1 in 222 boysVAMaryland: #64 for boys · 96 births · 1 in 295 boysMDDelaware: #96 for boys · 7 births · 1 in 567 boysDEArizona: #51 for boys · 129 births · 1 in 211 boysAZNew Mexico: #62 for boys · 45 births · 1 in 252 boysNMKansas: #44 for boys · 113 births · 1 in 153 boysKSArkansas: #50 for boys · 71 births · 1 in 208 boysARTennessee: #63 for boys · 104 births · 1 in 301 boysTNNorth Carolina: #53 for boys · 159 births · 1 in 257 boysNCSouth Carolina: #65 for boys · 58 births · 1 in 363 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #64 for boys · 24 births · 1 in 313 boysDCOklahoma: #51 for boys · 115 births · 1 in 196 boysOKLouisiana: #54 for boys · 138 births · 1 in 247 boysLAMississippi: #77 for boys · 44 births · 1 in 388 boysMSAlabama: #67 for boys · 74 births · 1 in 342 boysALGeorgia: #68 for boys · 127 births · 1 in 348 boysGAHawaii: #52 for boys · 33 births · 1 in 197 boysHITexas: #76 for boys · 402 births · 1 in 364 boysTXFlorida: #58 for boys · 258 births · 1 in 296 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. North Dakota#36 · 1 in 115
  2. West Virginia#37 · 1 in 123
  3. Rhode Island#38 · 1 in 120
  4. Maine#39 · 1 in 117
  5. South Dakota#42 · 1 in 141

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
North Dakota#36451 in 115
West Virginia#37901 in 123
Rhode Island#38501 in 120
Maine#39621 in 117
South Dakota#42341 in 141
Indiana#442351 in 157
Kansas#441131 in 153
Washington#441841 in 170
Kentucky#451371 in 175
Minnesota#452151 in 143
New Hampshire#45501 in 140
Massachusetts#461941 in 202
Wisconsin#462041 in 163
Iowa#471151 in 158
Missouri#481921 in 187
Oregon#481021 in 176
Colorado#491341 in 188
Arkansas#50711 in 208
Utah#501081 in 153
Arizona#511291 in 211
Nebraska#51661 in 168
Oklahoma#511151 in 196
Virginia#511701 in 222
Wyoming#51181 in 173
Alaska#52291 in 164
Hawaii#52331 in 197
Idaho#52401 in 170
Michigan#523011 in 212
Montana#53301 in 174
North Carolina#531591 in 257
Louisiana#541381 in 247
Ohio#543371 in 224
Illinois#552991 in 267
Pennsylvania#553291 in 235
Nevada#57271 in 236
Connecticut#58671 in 303
Florida#582581 in 296
New Mexico#62451 in 252
Tennessee#631041 in 301
District of Columbia#64241 in 313
Maryland#64961 in 295
South Carolina#65581 in 363
Alabama#67741 in 342
Vermont#67121 in 277
Georgia#681271 in 348
New York#713101 in 394
Texas#764021 in 364
California#776111 in 374
Mississippi#77441 in 388
New Jersey#771061 in 449
Delaware#9671 in 567

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 1986

girls
#2,724
35 births · 1 in 49,016 girls
boys
#57
6,900 births · 1 in 267 boys

Top girls' names in 1986

  1. #1Jessica52,682
  2. #2Ashley49,671
  3. #3Amanda40,532
  4. #4Jennifer36,187
  5. #5Sarah28,163
  6. #6Stephanie22,651
  7. #7Nicole21,292
  8. #8Brittany20,313
  9. #9Heather19,790
  10. #10Elizabeth19,074
  11. #2,724Derek35

Top boys' names in 1986

  1. #1Michael64,235
  2. #2Christopher56,693
  3. #3Matthew46,929
  4. #4Joshua37,542
  5. #5David37,150
  6. #6Daniel36,573
  7. #7James34,057
  8. #8Andrew33,858
  9. #9Robert31,350
  10. #10John30,209
  11. #57Derek6,900
More about 1986

girls

1,715,547 girls got a published name in 1986; 1 in 49,016 of them was named Derek, which outranked 78.8% of the 12,836 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.1% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #2,682Yanet36
  2. #2,682Zenobia36
  3. #2,682Zulema36
  4. #2,724Derek35
  5. #2,724Abra35
  6. #2,724Aleta35
  7. #2,724Alida35
  8. #2,779Aarika34
  9. #2,779Aleasha34
  10. #2,779Aletha34

Tied with 54 names at #2,724; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1985
Risers
  1. ↑ 9,719Kyrie#10,677 → #958
  2. ↑ 4,778Sable#5,678 → #900
  3. ↑ 2,034Eliana#2,484 → #450
  4. ↑ 1,497Shatara#2,484 → #987
  5. ↑ 1,374Cherrelle#2,253 → #879
Fallers
  1. ↓ 442Violeta#963 → #1,405
  2. ↓ 361Micaela#545 → #906
  3. ↓ 361Tasia#572 → #933
  4. ↓ 324Jo#925 → #1,249
  5. ↓ 306Tammie#987 → #1,293

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

boys

1,841,515 boys got a published name in 1986; 1 in 267 of them was named Derek, which outranked 99.3% of the 7,830 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 22.2% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #54Bradley7,044
  2. #55Shawn7,018
  3. #56Cody6,934
  4. #57Derek6,900
  5. #58Jared6,119
  6. #59Chad6,026
  7. #60Peter5,797
Biggest movers since 1985
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,279Spenser#2,226 → #947
  2. ↑ 920Jayce#1,614 → #694
  3. ↑ 714Addison#1,228 → #514
  4. ↑ 649Payton#1,614 → #965
  5. ↑ 573Cordell#1,181 → #608
Fallers
  1. ↓ 409Ulises#877 → #1,286
  2. ↓ 365Eliot#934 → #1,299
  3. ↓ 322Jordy#998 → #1,320
  4. ↓ 313Trace#956 → #1,269
  5. ↓ 292Kennith#963 → #1,255

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

See the top 100 for 1986 →