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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201987peak #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 1987

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: #44 for boys · 31 births · 1 in 143 boysAKMaine: #43 for boys · 58 births · 1 in 123 boysMEVermont: #84 for boys · 8 births · 1 in 412 boysVTNew Hampshire: #37 for boys · 70 births · 1 in 108 boysNHWashington: #40 for boys · 244 births · 1 in 130 boysWAIdaho: #44 for boys · 47 births · 1 in 140 boysIDMontana: #37 for boys · 43 births · 1 in 115 boysMTNorth Dakota: #28 for boys · 53 births · 1 in 95 boysNDMinnesota: #36 for boys · 284 births · 1 in 107 boysMNIllinois: #57 for boys · 315 births · 1 in 259 boysILWisconsin: #44 for boys · 219 births · 1 in 148 boysWIMichigan: #49 for boys · 358 births · 1 in 181 boysMINew York: #65 for boys · 369 births · 1 in 340 boysNYMassachusetts: #39 for boys · 293 births · 1 in 139 boysMARhode Island: #39 for boys · 46 births · 1 in 135 boysRIOregon: #46 for boys · 107 births · 1 in 166 boysORNevada: #57 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 212 boysNVWyoming: #59 for boys · 13 births · 1 in 202 boysWYSouth Dakota: #22 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 76 boysSDIowa: #36 for boys · 159 births · 1 in 111 boysIAIndiana: #38 for boys · 283 births · 1 in 130 boysINOhio: #52 for boys · 397 births · 1 in 192 boysOHPennsylvania: #50 for boys · 386 births · 1 in 201 boysPANew Jersey: #73 for boys · 114 births · 1 in 438 boysNJConnecticut: #60 for boys · 68 births · 1 in 314 boysCTCalifornia: #65 for boys · 801 births · 1 in 298 boysCAUtah: #47 for boys · 106 births · 1 in 150 boysUTColorado: #47 for boys · 140 births · 1 in 175 boysCONebraska: #37 for boys · 95 births · 1 in 112 boysNEMissouri: #47 for boys · 209 births · 1 in 171 boysMOKentucky: #40 for boys · 172 births · 1 in 139 boysKYWest Virginia: #30 for boys · 101 births · 1 in 105 boysWVVirginia: #46 for boys · 214 births · 1 in 184 boysVAMaryland: #59 for boys · 104 births · 1 in 280 boysMDDelaware: #56 for boys · 16 births · 1 in 258 boysDEArizona: #52 for boys · 141 births · 1 in 201 boysAZNew Mexico: #50 for boys · 60 births · 1 in 190 boysNMKansas: #37 for boys · 133 births · 1 in 124 boysKSArkansas: #44 for boys · 88 births · 1 in 170 boysARTennessee: #52 for boys · 147 births · 1 in 219 boysTNNorth Carolina: #55 for boys · 168 births · 1 in 247 boysNCSouth Carolina: #63 for boys · 62 births · 1 in 346 boysSCDistrict of Columbia: #63 for boys · 29 births · 1 in 276 boysDCOklahoma: #38 for boys · 154 births · 1 in 135 boysOKLouisiana: #46 for boys · 162 births · 1 in 199 boysLAMississippi: #58 for boys · 59 births · 1 in 277 boysMSAlabama: #59 for boys · 92 births · 1 in 275 boysALGeorgia: #63 for boys · 136 births · 1 in 335 boysGAHawaii: #53 for boys · 32 births · 1 in 211 boysHITexas: #60 for boys · 484 births · 1 in 296 boysTXFlorida: #55 for boys · 289 births · 1 in 275 boysFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · boys
  1. South Dakota#22 · 1 in 76
  2. North Dakota#28 · 1 in 95
  3. West Virginia#30 · 1 in 105
  4. Minnesota#36 · 1 in 107
  5. Iowa#36 · 1 in 111

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
South Dakota#22621 in 76
North Dakota#28531 in 95
West Virginia#301011 in 105
Iowa#361591 in 111
Minnesota#362841 in 107
Kansas#371331 in 124
Montana#37431 in 115
Nebraska#37951 in 112
New Hampshire#37701 in 108
Indiana#382831 in 130
Oklahoma#381541 in 135
Massachusetts#392931 in 139
Rhode Island#39461 in 135
Kentucky#401721 in 139
Washington#402441 in 130
Maine#43581 in 123
Alaska#44311 in 143
Arkansas#44881 in 170
Idaho#44471 in 140
Wisconsin#442191 in 148
Louisiana#461621 in 199
Oregon#461071 in 166
Virginia#462141 in 184
Colorado#471401 in 175
Missouri#472091 in 171
Utah#471061 in 150
Michigan#493581 in 181
New Mexico#50601 in 190
Pennsylvania#503861 in 201
Arizona#521411 in 201
Ohio#523971 in 192
Tennessee#521471 in 219
Hawaii#53321 in 211
Florida#552891 in 275
North Carolina#551681 in 247
Delaware#56161 in 258
Illinois#573151 in 259
Nevada#57321 in 212
Mississippi#58591 in 277
Alabama#59921 in 275
Maryland#591041 in 280
Wyoming#59131 in 202
Connecticut#60681 in 314
Texas#604841 in 296
District of Columbia#63291 in 276
Georgia#631361 in 335
South Carolina#63621 in 346
California#658011 in 298
New York#653691 in 340
New Jersey#731141 in 438
Vermont#8481 in 412

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 1987

girls
#1,962
57 births · 1 in 30,502 girls
boys
#54
8,253 births · 1 in 226 boys

Top girls' names in 1987

  1. #1Jessica55,992
  2. #2Ashley54,856
  3. #3Amanda41,786
  4. #4Jennifer32,710
  5. #5Sarah27,894
  6. #6Stephanie22,402
  7. #7Brittany22,231
  8. #8Nicole20,286
  9. #9Heather18,982
  10. #10Elizabeth18,608
  11. #1,962Derek57

Top boys' names in 1987

  1. #1Michael63,664
  2. #2Christopher54,493
  3. #3Matthew46,511
  4. #4Joshua40,002
  5. #5David36,795
  6. #6Andrew36,206
  7. #7Daniel35,876
  8. #8James32,659
  9. #9Justin31,491
  10. #10Robert30,237
  11. #54Derek8,253
More about 1987

girls

1,738,632 girls got a published name in 1987; 1 in 30,502 of them was named Derek, which outranked 85.2% of the 13,263 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 18.2% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #1,944Neha58
  2. #1,944Ofelia58
  3. #1,944Tyeshia58
  4. #1,962Derek57
  5. #1,962Ashia57
  6. #1,962Debora57
  7. #1,962Emely57
  8. #1,991Ambrosia56
  9. #1,991Bradley56
  10. #1,991Britnie56

Tied with 28 names at #1,962; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1986
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,808Janay#2,195 → #387
  2. ↑ 1,048Channing#1,638 → #590
  3. ↑ 786Ayla#1,380 → #594
  4. ↑ 714Yessenia#1,439 → #725
  5. ↑ 648Denisse#1,602 → #954
Fallers
  1. ↓ 1,153Halley#580 → #1,733
  2. ↓ 674Cherrelle#879 → #1,553
  3. ↓ 637Sharday#933 → #1,570
  4. ↓ 613Sharde#873 → #1,486
  5. ↓ 539Shardae#832 → #1,371

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

boys

1,866,984 boys got a published name in 1987; 1 in 226 of them was named Derek, which outranked 99.3% of the 8,152 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 21.8% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Derek
  1. #51Bryan8,560
  2. #52Jordan8,407
  3. #53Kenneth8,354
  4. #54Derek8,253
  5. #55Jesse7,982
  6. #56Bradley6,918
  7. #57Corey6,444
Biggest movers since 1986
Risers
  1. ↑ 994Trevin#1,962 → #968
  2. ↑ 819Conner#1,617 → #798
  3. ↑ 593Mychal#1,363 → #770
  4. ↑ 503Jaren#1,457 → #954
  5. ↑ 457Corbin#1,049 → #592
Fallers
  1. ↓ 623Durell#816 → #1,439
  2. ↓ 336Jayce#694 → #1,030
  3. ↓ 267Rasheed#921 → #1,188
  4. ↓ 263Deshaun#971 → #1,234
  5. ↓ 260Britt#880 → #1,140

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

See the top 100 for 1987 →