Derrin
Masculine
Derrin respells a name that has no documented origin to begin with, which means the respelling has nothing to be a respelling of. English has a word in the same shape that got into the dictionary by a chain of mistakes, and it is now perfectly respectable.
How old is the name Derrin?
Derrin first appears in US birth records in 1960 — 65 years ago. The typical Derrin alive today was born around 1989, making them about 36 years old. About 600 people named Derrin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Derrin most popular?
Derrin peaked in 1965, reaching #1429 nationally. See the whole 1965 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Derrin
Derring-do is a ghost. Chaucer wrote a phrase meaning daring to do, as a verb with an object; a fifteenth-century copyist misread it; the printer of a later edition set it as a single mangled form; and Spenser, reading that, took it for a noun meaning manhood and chivalry and used it that way in the Faerie Queene, complete with a deliberately archaic spelling. Walter Scott then picked it up from Spenser and put it into Ivanhoe, at which point it entered general English as a slightly grand word for bold action. There was never a verb to derring and there was never a noun do. Lexicographers call these ghost words — items that exist only because somebody misread something — and this is the most successful one in the language.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name this respells appeared in the twentieth century with no traceable source, and the Gaelic derivations offered for it were supplied afterwards by name dictionaries with a field to fill. This spelling inherits the blank exactly.
Pronouncing Derrin
DEH-rin
Two syllables with the stress at the front. The second syllable is unstressed and therefore free, which is why this family has so many spellings of it.
Nicknames for Derrin
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
- 1960
- Most boys named
- 196821 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1429reached in 1965
- Change vs 2019
- −14.3%6 in 2023, from 7
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.
Derrins among us
people named Derrin 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
Derrin 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
- Two syllables with front stress is the plainest shape English has.
- The sound is entirely familiar, so nobody has to be taught it.
- Six letters with no silent ones make it simple to spell aloud.
- Darren, Daren and Derren are all recorded and will be written for it.
- The spelling has to be given aloud every time.
- The name it respells has no known origin, so there is nothing to say about meaning.
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Derrin
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Derrins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Derrin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Derrin in 2025?
- Derrin is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Derrin with classmates?
- Derrin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Derrin? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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