Derrill
An English masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly from a surname surname.
Name Census estimates that about 434 living Americans carry the first name Derrill. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derrill today is around 65 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derrill births was 1950 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derrill. 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
434
~ 1 in 789,757 Americans
Peak year
1950
23 babies that year
Average age
65
years old
1992 SSA rank
#7,689
Tracked since 1915
Popularity
Derrill: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derrill from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 146 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derrill 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 Derrill during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Derrills live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. South Carolina, Georgia, Ohio recorded the most babies named Derrill, while Ohio, Georgia, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Derrill
The name Derrill is an English given name that originated in the late 19th century. It is believed to be a variation of the name Darrell, which is derived from the French surname D'Arrell or D'Airelle. The name Darrell is thought to be a locational surname referring to someone from a place called Airelle in Normandy, France.
Derrill does not have a clear etymology or direct translation from any specific language. It is likely a creative spelling variation that emerged in the English-speaking world, possibly influenced by the combination of the names Darrell and Merrill.
There are no notable historical references or appearances of the name Derrill in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from ancient civilizations. The earliest recorded examples of the name Derrill appear to be from the late 19th and early 20th centuries in English-speaking countries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Derrill was Derrill Pratt (1888-1942), an American silent film actor and director who appeared in several films in the 1910s and 1920s. Another early bearer of the name was Derrill M. Hart (1900-1964), an American politician who served as the 19th Governor of West Virginia from 1949 to 1953.
In more recent history, notable individuals with the first name Derrill include Derrill Felty (1923-2012), an American professional baseball player who played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1940s. Derrill Burgmann (1931-2020) was an Australian politician who served as the Deputy Premier of New South Wales from 1984 to 1986.
Another individual with the name Derrill is Derrill Sandefur (born 1938), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Golden Corral restaurant chain. He has been involved in various charitable initiatives, particularly in the field of education.
While the name Derrill is not a common name, it has been used throughout the 20th century by individuals in various fields, including entertainment, politics, sports, and business. Despite its somewhat obscure origins, the name has managed to endure and continue to be given to children in the English-speaking world.
People
Derrill + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derrill 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
Derrill: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derrill?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 434 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derrill 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 789,757 US residents.
Is Derrill a common name?
We classify Derrill as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 787 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derrill most popular?
The single biggest year for Derrill was 1950, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derrill is about 65 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Derrill a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derrill 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.