Derek

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of Diederik, the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler" or "lead the people".

From Wikipedia

Derek first appears in the data in 1964 and has been recorded in 15 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 1974 with 48 babies (rank #106 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Derek

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Derek yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

7Destiny numberThe seekerIntrospective, analytical, drawn to the unknown.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
6PersonalityThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

484

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Famous people named Derek

Derek Walcottprose writer · b. 1930
Derek Bartonuniversity teacher · b. 1918
Derek Jacobifilm actor · b. 1938
Derek Boatengassociation football player · b. 1983
Derek Jeterbaseball commentator · b. 1974

More popular boys' names

Other boys' names starting with D

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1964	38	#108
1966	30	#111
1967	38	#106
1968	41	#105
1969	36	#105
1970	39	#106
1971	46	#104
1972	44	#106
1973	40	#110
1974	48	#106
1975	38	#111
1976	39	#109
2014	3	#409
2015	2	#565
2017	2	#581