Derald
Derald is a masculine name of English origin meaning "truly great leader".
Name Census estimates that about 1,056 living Americans carry the first name Derald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derald today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derald births was 1929 (75 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derald. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Derald is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Deralds were born before 1969.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 324,578 Americans
Peak year
1929
75 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2000 SSA rank
#9,395
Tracked since 1914
Census
Derald in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,166 people with the first name Derald, which placed it at #11,141 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#11,141
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,166 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Derald
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derald is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Derald described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Derald at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 911
- Black or African American14.7% · 171
- Two or more races2.4% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.1% · 25
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 15
Popularity
Derald: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derald from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 528 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derald by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Derald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Deralds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 13 states and territories. Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska recorded the most babies named Derald, while North Dakota, Michigan, Oklahoma recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 29 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Derald
The name Derald originated from the Old English language and can be traced back to the early medieval period in England. It is a combination of two Old English words: "deor," meaning "brave" or "bold," and "ald," meaning "old" or "wise." The name was often given to individuals who displayed courage and wisdom beyond their years.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Derald can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landholder named Derald in the county of Somerset.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Derald served as a monk and chronicler at the Abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, England. His writings provide valuable insights into the religious and historical events of his time.
During the 13th century, a Derald de Raleigh, born in 1220, was a prominent landowner and knight in Devonshire. He participated in several military campaigns and was known for his bravery on the battlefield.
In the 15th century, a Derald Melville, born in 1432, was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat who played a significant role in negotiating treaties between Scotland and England. His diplomatic skills were highly regarded, and he was respected by both nations.
Fast-forwarding to the 17th century, Derald Fitzwilliam, born in 1609, was an English philosopher and writer who contributed to the intellectual discourse of his era. His works explored various philosophical and theological concepts, and he was well-regarded among his contemporaries.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Derald. While the name may have fallen out of widespread use in more recent times, it has a rich heritage rooted in the Old English language and has been carried by notable figures across various fields.
People
Derald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derald as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Derald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,056 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derald going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 324,578 US residents.
Is Derald a common name?
We classify Derald as "Rare". It ranks above 90.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,190 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derald most popular?
The single biggest year for Derald was 1929, when 75 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derald is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Derald in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,166 people with the name Derald, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,141 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Derald in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Derald?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derald appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,163 people counted with this name, 99.8% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Derald?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derald is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (14.7%) and Two or More Races (2.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Derald most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Derald in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (911 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Derald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Derald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derald in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Derald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Derald in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Derald can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Derald?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.