Deriek
A masculine name of English origin meaning "ruler of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Deriek. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Deriek today is around 40 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deriek births was 1981 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deriek. 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 Deriek. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1981
6 babies that year
Average age
40
years old
1988 SSA rank
#7,568
Tracked since 1981
Popularity
Deriek: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Deriek 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 Deriek during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Deriek
The name Deriek is of Old English origin, derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning "deer" and "ric" meaning "power" or "ruler." It can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period, roughly between the 5th and 11th centuries AD, when it was predominantly used in regions now known as England and parts of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deriek can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of a great survey commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appeared as "Deric," referring to a landowner in the county of Hampshire.
In the 12th century, the name gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy in various parts of Europe. Deriek of Rievaulx, a Cistercian monk and mystic writer who lived from around 1110 to 1167, is one notable historical figure bearing this name.
During the Middle Ages, the name Deriek was also found in various literary works and historical records. For instance, the epic poem "Beowulf," which dates back to between the 8th and 11th centuries, mentions a character named "Dæghrefn" whose name bears a similar etymology to Deriek.
In the 14th century, Deriek van Muiden, a Dutch nobleman and knight, was a prominent figure who served as the Lord of Muiden and played a significant role in the conflicts between the Hoeken and Kabeljauwen factions in Holland.
Another noteworthy individual was Deriek Wessel (1420-1489), a Dutch theologian and philosopher who was a leading figure of the Brethren of the Common Life movement and a precursor to the Protestant Reformation.
People
Deriek + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deriek 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
Deriek: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deriek?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deriek 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Deriek a common name?
We classify Deriek as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deriek most popular?
The single biggest year for Deriek was 1981, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deriek is about 40 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 Deriek in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deriek a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deriek 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 Deriek still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deriek 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 Deriek 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 have the name Deriek?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.