Derin
Masculine · “Deep”
Derin is given to both — 911 boys and 240 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Derin arrives in the American record in the 1960s, alongside Darin, Darrin and Darren, all of which rose together in that decade. It is also, quite separately, a real Turkish word: derin means deep.
How old is the name Derin?
Derin first appears in US birth records in 1964 — 61 years ago. The typical Derin alive today was born around 2004, making them about 21 years old. About 900 people named Derin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Derin most popular?
Derin peaked in 1967, reaching #2030 nationally. Today it ranks #5399, 3,369 places below that high. See the whole 1967 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Derin
The Darren family is one of the better puzzles in American naming. The name is essentially absent before 1950, rises very sharply through the 1960s, and stays in the American top hundred for two decades — and nobody can say for certain where it came from. The actor Darren McGavin was working from the 1940s and the singer Bobby Darin, born Walden Cassotto, took his stage name in 1956. Bewitched put a Darrin at the center of a top-rated show from 1964. Any of these could be the trigger and none is proved. Derin is one of the smaller spellings in that group, peaking in 1967 at the height of the whole family's run. The Turkish word arrived in American records much later and by an entirely separate road.
Meaningscholars disagree
Deep, if Turkish
Turkish derin, deep, is a genuine and current given name in Turkey used for both sexes; that reading is settled for the Turkish name. The American Derin of the 1960s is a different problem: it appears with Darin, Darrin and Darren, whose own origin is unsettled — an Irish surname Ó Dearáin, an English place name, and a coinage are all proposed. The two roads reach the same spelling and the record does not distinguish them.
Pronouncing Derin
DAIR-in
Two syllables, stress on the first. Turkish derin puts the weight on the second, deh-REEN, with a rolled r; the two sayings are noticeably different.
Nicknames for Derin
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1964
- Most boys named
- 201038 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2030reached in 1967
- Change vs 2024
- +240.0%17 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Derin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Derin in Turkish — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Florida.
Derins among us
people named Derin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 100,475 born in 2025 was named Derin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Ascencion test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Derin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Ascencion climbed just as high around 1946, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Ascencion's path sketches the road Derin is walking now.
Derin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Derin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Derin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is easy to say and to spell after one hearing.
- The Turkish word behind the other reading has a settled and good meaning.
- Two syllables and five letters keep it compact.
- Darin, Darrin, Darren and Derin are four spellings of nearly one sound.
- The two possible sources give two different stresses.
- The American form is tightly dated to the 1960s and 1970s.
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Derin
Masculine · #5399 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Derins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Derin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Derin in 2025?
- Derin ranks #5399 among US boy names in 2025, with 17 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Derin?
- About 1 in every 100,475 US boys born in 2025 was named Derin — 17 in all.
- Will my child share the name Derin with classmates?
- Derin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Derin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Frazier#5399 · Franz#5399 · Demetrio#5399 · Rolan#5399 · Rayvon#5399 · Riddick#5399 · Laramie#5399 · Soloman#5399
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Derin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Derin and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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