Dendrick
Derived from an English surname, a variant of the name Hendrick.
Name Census estimates that about 10 living Americans carry the first name Dendrick. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dendrick today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dendrick births was 1979 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dendrick. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dendrick. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
10
~ 1 in 34,275,434 Americans
Peak year
1979
5 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,080
Tracked since 1979
Popularity
Dendrick: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dendrick from the 1970s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dendrick by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dendrick during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dendrick
The name Dendrick has its roots in the ancient Germanic language family, with origins dating back to the early medieval period. The name is derived from the Old Germanic elements "denn" meaning "valley" or "small valley," and "ric" meaning "ruler" or "powerful." The combination of these two elements suggests that Dendrick was originally a name given to someone who ruled or held power over a small valley or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dendrick can be found in the Frankish chronicles of the 8th century, where it is mentioned as the name of a minor nobleman who fought alongside Charlemagne's forces. However, the name gained more prominence in the 10th and 11th centuries, particularly in the regions of modern-day Germany and the Low Countries.
In the 11th century, a Dendrick of Saxony was a notable figure in the court of Emperor Henry IV, serving as a trusted advisor and diplomat. Another Dendrick, a knight from the region of Flanders, is recorded as having participated in the First Crusade in 1096, although little is known about his specific role or achievements.
During the High Middle Ages, the name Dendrick appeared occasionally in various records and chronicles, often associated with minor nobility or landed gentry. One noteworthy bearer of the name was Dendrick von Mecklenburg, a 13th-century German nobleman who served as a military commander during the Prussian Crusades against the pagan Baltic tribes.
In the 15th century, a Dendrick von Hessen was a prominent scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the early years of the Protestant Reformation in Germany. He was known for his debates and writings challenging certain aspects of Catholic doctrine and his support for the reformist ideas of Martin Luther.
Another figure of historical note was Dendrick van der Merwe, a Dutch explorer and navigator who accompanied the famous explorer Abel Tasman on his voyages to the Dutch East Indies (modern-day Indonesia) in the mid-17th century. Van der Merwe's detailed accounts and maps of the regions they explored contributed greatly to the expansion of Dutch colonial interests in the region.
While the name Dendrick has fallen out of widespread use in modern times, it remains a part of the rich tapestry of Germanic and European naming traditions, with its origins firmly rooted in the medieval period and the history of the region.
People
Dendrick + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dendrick as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dendrick: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dendrick?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dendrick going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 34,275,434 US residents.
Is Dendrick a common name?
We classify Dendrick as "Very Rare". It ranks above 28.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dendrick most popular?
The single biggest year for Dendrick was 1979, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dendrick is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dendrick in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dendrick a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dendrick in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dendrick still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dendrick in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dendrick can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Dendrick?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.