Deryk
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "ruler of the village".
Name Census estimates that about 733 living Americans carry the first name Deryk. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Deryk today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deryk births was 1994 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deryk. 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
733
~ 1 in 467,605 Americans
Peak year
1994
34 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,108
Tracked since 1959
Census
Deryk in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 713 people with the first name Deryk, which placed it at #15,968 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
#15,968
National first-name rank
People counted
713
713 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deryk
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deryk is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Black (11.1%). 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 Deryk 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 Deryk at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 446
- Hispanic or Latino16.5% · 118
- Black or African American11.1% · 79
- Two or more races5.9% · 42
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 11
Popularity
Deryk: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deryk from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 213 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Deryk remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deryk 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 Deryk during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deryks live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Ohio, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Deryk, while Pennsylvania, California, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Deryk
The given name Deryk has its origins in the Old English language, with roots tracing back to the 5th century AD. It is derived from the Old English words "deor," meaning "dear" or "beloved," and "ric," meaning "ruler" or "power." Thus, the name Deryk can be interpreted as "beloved ruler" or "powerful leader."
During the Anglo-Saxon era, the name Deryk was primarily used among the ruling classes and nobility in various regions of what is now England. It gained popularity as a name for male heirs to noble households, reflecting the aspirations and expectations associated with the name's meaning.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deryk can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership and population commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. Several individuals with the name Deryk are listed as landowners or tenants in various counties across England.
Throughout history, the name Deryk has been borne by several notable figures. Among them is Deryk Carleton, a 16th-century English author and translator who lived from approximately 1573 to 1638. His most notable work was the translation of the Italian Renaissance poet Ludovico Ariosto's epic poem, "Orlando Furioso," into English.
Another prominent individual with the name Deryk was Deryk Parfit, a British philosopher who made significant contributions to the fields of ethics, rationality, and personal identity. Born in 1942 and passed away in 2017, Parfit was widely renowned for his influential work, including the book "Reasons and Persons."
In the realm of sports, Deryk Engelland, an American professional ice hockey player, achieved notable success. Born in 1982, Engelland played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) and represented the United States in various international competitions.
The name Deryk has also been associated with historical figures in various cultures and regions. For instance, Deryk of Brittany, a 12th-century Breton ruler, played a significant role in the medieval history of northwestern France.
Lastly, Deryk Fletcher, a 15th-century English nobleman and soldier, was a prominent figure during the Wars of the Roses, serving under King Edward IV of England.
People
Deryk + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deryk 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
Deryk: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deryk?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 733 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deryk 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 467,605 US residents.
Is Deryk a common name?
We classify Deryk as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 759 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deryk most popular?
The single biggest year for Deryk was 1994, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deryk is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Deryk in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 713 people with the name Deryk, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,968 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 Deryk 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 Deryk?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Deryk appears almost entirely male. Of the 711 people counted with this name, 99.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Deryk?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Deryk is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.5%) and Black (11.1%). 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 Deryk most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Deryk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (446 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 Deryk in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Deryk a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Deryk 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 Deryk still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Deryk 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 Deryk 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 named Deryk?
Find out how many people share the name Deryk on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.