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Derek

Boy's name · #284 in the US (2025) · 80s wave

Popularity over time

Derek's best rank, #50, came in 1980; it has stepped well back to #284 today. Roughly 239,000 boys have been named Derek since 1924.

Across the states

See where Derek is more common.

Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 39 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.

Around the world

See how Derek ranks in other countries and regions.

#41 in Ecuador (2025) · #152 in Puerto Rico (2025) · #263 in Mexico (2024) · #432 in Ireland (2025) · #470 in Italy (2024) · #515 in Canada (2025) · #1,199 in Belgium (2025) · #1,502 in France (2025) · #1,705 in England & Wales (2025) · #2,144 in Sweden (2025) · #2,238 in Austria (2025) · #727 in Scotland (2024) and 5 more.

Famous Dereks

• Derek Walcott — Saint Lucian poet and playwright (1930–2017)
• Derek Barton — English chemist and Nobel Prize laureate (1918–1998)
• Derek Jacobi — English actor (born 1938)
• Derek Boateng — Ghanaian footballer (born 1983)
• Derek Jeter — American baseball player (born 1974)
• Derek Jarman — British film director and artist (1942–1994)
• Derek Parfit — British philosopher (1942–2017)

In stories & tradition

• Derek Shepherd — Fictional character in TV series Grey's Anatomy
• Derek Morgan — Criminal Minds (TV series)
• Derek Powers — Batman Beyond (TV series)

What Dereks become

Among 1,957 notable people named Derek:

Sports figures appear 1.98× more often than among typical names — e.g. Derek Boateng, Ghanaian footballer (born 1983).

Spellings & nicknames

Together with its spelling variants Dereck (#688), Derrick (#850), and Derick (#1478), Derek would rank around #186 with about 2,000 births last year — the newborns split about 60/20/14/6 across Derek, Dereck, Derrick, and Derick.

Similar names: Dereck · Bradley · Devin · Clayton · Dustin · Eric

Browse more boy names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.

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