boy's name
Derrick
DER-ik
- Origin Germanic
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 148,633
the United States
#852
2025 births
Derrick means ruler of the people, and the crane is named after a man — Thomas Derrick, an Elizabethan hangman whose gallows design was distinctive enough that his name became the word for it.
- Derrick is a name of Germanic origin.
- Peaked in 1980, when 4,171 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 11,512 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1917.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Derrick over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1910s | 11 |
| 1920s | 12 |
| 1930s | 57 |
| 1940s | 333 |
| 1950s | 6,209 |
| 1960s | 21,382 |
| 1970s | 33,212 |
| 1980s | 36,668 |
| 1990s | 24,059 |
| 2000s | 13,556 |
| 2010s | 8,559 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 2,286 |
What Derrick means
Derrick means ruler of the people. The Germanic joins a word for a people or tribe to one meaning rule, so the compound names an office over a group.
Where Derrick comes from
Derrick descends from the Germanic Theodoric — theud, a people, joined to ric, rule — the name of the Ostrogothic king who ruled Italy from Ravenna, and the parent of the Dutch Dirk, the German Dietrich and the French Thierry. The crane sense is separate and traceable: Thomas Derrick was a hangman at Tyburn around 1600 who devised a beam-and-pulley gallows, and his name transferred first to gallows generally and then to lifting equipment. So the oil derrick standing over a well carries the name of an executioner.
Derrick in use
Derrick peaked in the United States in 1980, when 4,171 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now ranks 796th in Ireland on 4 births, 852nd in the United States on 288, 2105th in England and Wales on 12 and 6375th in France, across 148,633 lifetime births in five of the seven markets we track. Our records carry it from 1917.
How popular is Derrick?
In 2025, Derrick was given to 288 babies in the United States, ranking #852 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Derrick is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Derrick
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Derrick also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Derrick over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Derrick
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Derrick in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Derrick
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Derrick — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Derrick
What does the name Derrick mean?
Ruler of the people — the Germanic theud, a people, joined to ric, rule.
Why is a crane called a derrick?
After Thomas Derrick, an Elizabethan hangman whose gallows design gave its name first to gallows and then to lifting gear.
Is Derrick related to Dirk?
Yes — Dirk, Dietrich and Thierry are all forms of the same Germanic name.
How popular is Derrick?
852nd in the United States, down from a 1980 peak of 4,135 births.
Is Derrick a girl's or a boy's name?
Derrick is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Derrick?
Derrick has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Derrick?
Derrick is usually shortened to Del.
Is Derrick a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Derrick currently ranks #796 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.