Recorded 1924–2025 · United States
Derek was most popular in 1989, when 8,402 American babies were given the name — ranking #94 that year. In 2025 it ranked #552, with 1,191 births. Across 1880–2025 the Social Security Administration has recorded 239,969 people named Derek.
Derek first appears in Social Security Administration records in 1924, which makes it about 101 years old as a recorded American name. It has been recorded in 98 of the 102 years since.
The Social Security Administration has recorded 239,969 American births named Derek between 1880 and 2025. That is recorded US births, not a world population — it counts people issued a Social Security number at birth in the United States. Of those, roughly 224,649 are estimated to be alive today.
1,191 American babies were named Derek in 2025, ranking #552 that year.
Derek is falling. Across 2021–2025 it averaged 1,208 births a year, against 1,981 a year across 2011–2015 — a change of -39% over the decade.
Measured on recorded births. American births overall have fallen since 2007, so most established names lose births over any recent decade — a name can shed births and still hold its rank. Compare the rank above, which is measured against the other names of the same year.
Across the whole record Derek is a boy’s name — 0.4% of the 239,969 Americans given it were girls and 99.6% were boys. In births since 2016 it is 0% girls and 100% boys.
Counted from every US birth the Social Security Administration recorded under this name, so it reflects use rather than opinion. A name given to fewer than five babies of one sex in a year is withheld at source and is not counted.
Roughly 224,649 Americans named Derek are alive today — 94% of everyone ever recorded with the name. The median is 38 years old, and half are between 28 and 46.
An estimate, not a count. Recorded births are carried forward through the Social Security Administration’s 2023 period life table, by age and sex. That table describes mortality in one recent year, so it credits the oldest cohorts with today’s survival rather than the harsher rates they actually lived through — the further back a name peaked, the more this will overstate how many remain. It counts people issued a Social Security number at birth, not immigrants who arrived later.
Germanic · "ruler of the people"
How much more common the name is in each state than across the country as a whole.
See Derek on the interactive charts
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Source: U.S.A. Social Security Administration. Years 1880–2025. namelegacy.org