Derris
A feminine name possibly derived from the Greek word "derris" meaning leatherwood tree.
Name Census estimates that about 389 living Americans carry the first name Derris. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derris today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derris births was 1990 (19 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derris. 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
389
~ 1 in 881,117 Americans
Peak year
1990
19 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2014 SSA rank
#9,894
Tracked since 1951
Census
Derris in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 385 people with the first name Derris, which placed it at #24,842 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#24,842
National first-name rank
People counted
385
385 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
61.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Derris
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derris is Black at 61.6%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Hispanic (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Derris described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Derris at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American61.6% · 237
- White25.2% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 17
- Two or more races4.2% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 5
Popularity
Derris: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derris from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 125 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derris 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 Derris 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 Derris
The name Derris has its origins in the ancient Greek language, with roots dating back to the 5th century BC. It is derived from the Greek word "derrhis," which means "a kind of evergreen oak" or "a tree with leathery leaves." The name is believed to have been initially used as a reference to individuals who lived among or near oak forests or woodlands.
In ancient Greek literature, the name Derris is mentioned in several texts, including Theophrastus' work on botany, where he described the characteristics of the derrhis tree. However, there are no known historical records of individuals bearing this name during that time period.
The earliest recorded use of Derris as a personal name dates back to the 16th century, when it appeared in various European records and documents. One notable individual was Derris Petrides, a Greek scholar and philosopher born in 1542 in Crete, who wrote extensively on the teachings of Plato and Aristotle.
In the 17th century, Derris Vandrille, a French botanist and horticulturist born in 1625, gained recognition for his work on plant classification and his contributions to the development of botanical gardens in Paris.
During the 19th century, Derris Helmholtz, a German physician and physiologist born in 1821, made significant advancements in the field of optics and the study of the human eye. His groundbreaking research on the mechanism of accommodation in the eye laid the foundation for modern ophthalmology.
In the 20th century, Derris Alland, a Norwegian explorer and writer born in 1905, gained fame for his expeditions to the Arctic regions and his vivid accounts of life in the far north.
Another notable figure was Derris Kincaid, an American writer and poet born in 1919, whose works explored themes of nature, spirituality, and the human condition. Her poetry collections received critical acclaim and numerous literary awards.
While the name Derris is not widely popular in modern times, it carries a rich historical significance rooted in ancient Greek language and culture, as well as contributions from various individuals across different fields throughout the centuries.
People
Derris + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derris 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
Derris: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derris?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 389 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derris 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 881,117 US residents.
Is Derris a common name?
We classify Derris as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 416 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derris most popular?
The single biggest year for Derris was 1990, when 19 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derris is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Derris in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 385 people with the name Derris, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #24,842 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Derris in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Derris?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derris leans strongly male. 357 people counted with this name were male (93.0%), compared with 27 female bearers (7.0%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Derris?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derris is Black at 61.6%. The next largest groups are White (25.2%) and Hispanic (4.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Derris most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Derris in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.6% (237 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Derris in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Derris a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derris 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 Derris still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Derris 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 Derris 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.
How many people are called Derris?
You can see how many people have the name Derris on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.