Derico
An English masculine name derived from the German "Dietrich" meaning "ruler of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 325 living Americans carry the first name Derico. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derico today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derico births was 1991 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derico. 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.
People living today
325
~ 1 in 1,054,629 Americans
Peak year
1991
21 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,984
Tracked since 1972
Popularity
Derico: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derico from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 105 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derico 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 Derico during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dericos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Derico
The name Derico is believed to have its origins in the Germanic languages, particularly in the Old High German dialect spoken in the region of modern-day Germany during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the root words "deor," meaning "brave," and "rīc," meaning "powerful" or "ruler."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Derico can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus, a collection of historical documents from the Benedictine abbey of Fulda, dated around the 9th century AD. This document mentions a nobleman named Derico von Hessen, who was a prominent landowner in the region of Hesse.
In the 11th century, a renowned scholar and theologian named Derico of Auxerre lived in France. He was known for his extensive commentaries on various books of the Bible and his contributions to the development of scholastic theology.
During the Crusades, a knight named Derico de Montfort was recorded as having participated in the Third Crusade (1189–1192) under the leadership of King Richard I of England. He was part of the forces that laid siege to the city of Acre in present-day Israel.
In the 14th century, an Italian merchant and explorer named Derico Polo, a relative of the famous Marco Polo, embarked on several expeditions to the Far East. His travel accounts and descriptions of the territories he visited were widely circulated and contributed to the knowledge of distant lands during that era.
Another notable figure bearing the name Derico was Derico von Bingen, a 15th-century German architect and stonemason. He is credited with designing and overseeing the construction of several churches and cathedrals in the Rhineland region, including the iconic Cologne Cathedral.
People
Derico + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derico 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
Derico: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derico?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 325 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derico 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 1,054,629 US residents.
Is Derico a common name?
We classify Derico as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 337 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derico most popular?
The single biggest year for Derico was 1991, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derico is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Derico a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derico 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.
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.