Deryn
A feminine variant of 'Deryn', a Welsh name meaning "True" or "Genuine".
Name Census estimates that about 230 living Americans carry the first name Deryn. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Deryn today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Deryn births was 2016 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Deryn. 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
230
~ 1 in 1,490,236 Americans
Peak year
2016
16 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2016 SSA rank
#9,048
Tracked since 1992
Gender
Gender distribution for Deryn
Deryn leans heavily female at 85.9% of total registrations, but 33 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Deryn as a male name
- Ranked #9,048 in 2016
- 8 male births in 2016
- Peak: 2016 (8 births)
Deryn as a female name
- Ranked #13,876 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1998 (14 births)
Popularity
Deryn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Deryn from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Deryn 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 Deryn 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 Deryn
The given name Deryn is believed to have originated from the Welsh language, derived from the Welsh word "deryn," which means "bird." This name's origins can be traced back to the early medieval period in the Celtic regions of Britain, particularly in Wales.
In Welsh mythology and folklore, birds often symbolized freedom, grace, and a connection to the natural world. The name Deryn may have been bestowed upon children as a way to imbue them with these characteristics or as a nod to the rich cultural heritage of the Welsh people.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Deryn can be found in the "Black Book of Carmarthen," a 13th-century manuscript containing some of the earliest examples of Welsh poetry and prose. The name appears in a poem dedicated to a woman named Deryn, though little is known about her historical significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Deryn. One such person was Deryn Llwyd Morgan (1908-1988), a Welsh politician and Member of Parliament who served as the Secretary of State for Wales from 1966 to 1968. She was a prominent figure in the Labour Party and a staunch advocate for Welsh language and culture.
Another noteworthy bearer of the name was Deryn Rees-Jones (born 1964), a British poet and academic. She has published several collections of poetry and has won numerous awards, including the Forward Prize for Best Single Poem in 1993.
In the realm of sports, Deryn Terrio (1944-2021) was a Canadian track and field athlete who competed in the 1964 and 1968 Summer Olympics. She specialized in the pentathlon and held the Canadian record in that event for several years.
Moving to the arts, Deryn Hinch (1949-2008) was an Australian actress best known for her roles in television series such as "Prisoner" and "Neighbours." She had a successful career spanning several decades and was a familiar face on Australian television screens.
Another notable figure with the name Deryn was Deryn Guest (1920-2011), a British writer and historian. She authored several books on Welsh history and culture, including "The Artes Historiques of Wales" and "The Traditional Games of England, Scotland, and Ireland."
These are just a few examples of individuals who have carried the name Deryn throughout history, each leaving their mark in their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of cultural diversity.
People
Deryn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Deryn 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
Deryn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Deryn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 230 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Deryn 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 1,490,236 US residents.
Is Deryn a common name?
We classify Deryn as "Very Rare". It ranks above 76% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 234 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Deryn most popular?
The single biggest year for Deryn was 2016, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Deryn is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Deryn a female name?
Yes, 85.9% of people registered as Deryn in the SSA data are female. 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.