Derrick
Feminine · “ruler of the people”
Derrick is given to boys far more often — 145,347 boys against 997 girls since 1880. See Derrick as a boy name
Derrick Bell resigned a Harvard professorship over the university's refusal to tenure a Black woman, took an unpaid leave that became permanent, and spent the rest of his career arguing that racism is a permanent feature of American life rather than an aberration from it. The field he founded is now the subject of legislation in a dozen states.
How old is the name Derrick?
Derrick first appears in US birth records in 1954 — 71 years ago. The typical Derrick alive today was born around 1977, making them about 48 years old. About 900 people named Derrick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Derrick most popular?
Derrick peaked in 1974, reaching #1999 nationally. See the whole 1974 chart.
Where it comes from
From a Germanic compound about a people and rule to Derrick
The story of Derrick
Bell had been a lawyer for the government and then for the civil rights movement before he taught, and he wrote in parables — short fictional cases that made an argument the case law could not. His central claim, that civil rights advances happen when they happen to suit the interests of the majority, was unwelcome from the beginning and has not become less so. He gave up a chair rather than accept a faculty that was not going to change, and never got it back.
Meaning
ruler of the people
The name is a Dutch and Low German worn-down form of a long Germanic compound built from words for a people and for rule. It came into English through Flemish and Dutch traders and settled as Derrick and Derek, which are the same name and are both in the record. The route explains why it looks nothing like the German version of the same compound.
How the name formed
- a Germanic compound about a people and rule
- Dutch and Low German wear it down to Derrick
- the name enters English through trade
- an American peak at the start of the 1980s
- a legal scholar makes the name argued about
Related forms: Diederik · Dietrich · Derek
Pronouncing Derrick
DERR-ik
Two syllables, stress at the front. Derek and Derrick are identical in speech and differ only in how the middle consonant is written.
Nicknames for Derrick
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
- 1954
- Most girls named
- 197442 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1999reached in 1974
- Change vs 2004
- +16.7%7 in 2005, from 6
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.
Derrick in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Diederik in Dutch — same name
- Dietrich in German — same name
- Derek in English — spelling variant
Derricks among us
people named Derrick are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Derrick sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is entirely familiar and needs no explanation anywhere.
- Rick is available and is a complete name in its own right.
- The meaning is clear and grand without being heavy.
- Derek is equally common and the spelling will need saying every time.
- It is closely dated to the 1970s and 1980s in America.
- The word for an oil rig is spelled the same way and has a grim origin.
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What they receive
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Derrick
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Derricks 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 Derrick are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Derrick in 2025?
- Derrick is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Derrick with classmates?
- Derrick will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
Dorothy#421 · Donna#1962 · Deborah#862 · Debra#4460 · Diane#2607 · Doris#2895 · Denise#1673 · Danielle#549
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Derrick? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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