Derold
Anglicized form of a German surname meaning "one who comes from a valley".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Derold. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derold today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derold births was 1955 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derold. 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
- • The typical person named Derold is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Derolds were born before 1966.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Derold. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1955
8 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1971 SSA rank
#5,094
Tracked since 1921
Popularity
Derold: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derold from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 14 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Derold remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derold 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 Derold 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 Derold
The name Derold is an Old English given name with Germanic roots, first appearing in records from the late 8th century. It is derived from the Proto-Germanic elements "deor" meaning "precious" or "beloved" and "wald" meaning "to rule" or "to govern." The name can be interpreted to mean "precious ruler" or "beloved leader."
In its earliest forms, the name was spelled "Dēoruuald" or "Dēorwald" in Old English texts. Similar spellings such as "Derwold" and "Derewold" were also recorded in various medieval documents across England and parts of Normandy.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Derold of Marton, a Saxon noble who lived in the late 9th century and is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landholdings and population commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
Another notable figure was Derold of Ghent, a Flemish monk and chronicler who lived in the early 12th century. His writings provide valuable insights into the social and political conditions of medieval Flanders.
In the 13th century, Derold de Neville was a prominent English knight and landowner from Northumberland. He fought alongside King Edward I during the Scottish Wars of Independence.
During the Renaissance period, Derold Erasmus (1469-1536) was a Dutch Renaissance humanist and Catholic priest who was one of the most influential scholars of his time, known for his critical editions of classical texts and his satirical writings.
A more recent bearer of the name was Derold Slaughter (1938-2009), an American football player who played as a cornerback for the Oakland Raiders in the National Football League from 1967 to 1971.
While the name Derold was relatively uncommon throughout history, these examples demonstrate its usage across various regions, time periods, and social spheres, reflecting the name's Germanic heritage and its enduring presence in Western culture.
People
Derold + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derold 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
Derold: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derold?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derold 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Derold a common name?
We classify Derold as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derold most popular?
The single biggest year for Derold was 1955, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derold is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Derold a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derold 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.