Derian
From an Arabic origin meaning "brave warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 1,581 living Americans carry the first name Derian. It is a predominantly male name (91.6% of registrations). The average person named Derian today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derian births was 1996 (101 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derian. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Derian with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 216,796 Americans
Peak year
1996
101 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,371
Tracked since 1967
Census
Derian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,339 people with the first name Derian, which placed it at #10,088 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
#10,088
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,339 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
49.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Derian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derian is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.3%) and White (20.5%). 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 Derian 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 Derian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino49.4% · 661
- Black or African American23.3% · 312
- White20.5% · 275
- Two or more races4.0% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 25
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 12
Gender
Gender distribution for Derian
Derian leans heavily male at 91.6% of total registrations, but 135 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Derian as a male name
- Ranked #2,371 in 2024
- 59 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1996 (85 births)
Derian as a female name
- Ranked #17,145 in 2015
- 5 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1995 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derian leans strongly male. 1,175 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 164 female bearers (12.2%).
Popularity
Derian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derian from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 516 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1990s peak, Derian remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derian 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 Derian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Derians live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Derian, while Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Derian
The name Derian is believed to have originated from the Celtic culture, with roots dating back to ancient Britain and Ireland. It is thought to be derived from the Welsh word "deryn," which means "bird" or "fowl." This connection to nature and the avian world has given the name a sense of freedom and grace.
Historically, the name Derian was prevalent among the Celtic tribes that inhabited the British Isles. Its earliest recorded usage can be traced back to the 6th century, when it appeared in ancient Welsh and Irish texts, often referring to poets, bards, and storytellers who were revered in these societies.
One of the earliest documented individuals bearing the name Derian was a 7th-century Welsh monk and scribe known as Derian of Llancarfan. He is credited with transcribing and preserving numerous Welsh literary works, including the famous "Book of Taliesin," a collection of poems attributed to the renowned bard Taliesin.
In the 12th century, Derian ap Rhys was a prominent Welsh poet and nobleman who served as a court bard to the Lord Rhys of Deheubarth. His poetic works, which celebrated the valor and exploits of his patron, have become an important part of the Welsh literary canon.
During the 16th century, Derian Gwynllyw was a Welsh Catholic priest and martyr who was executed for his religious beliefs during the English Reformation. His steadfast faith and martyrdom have made him a revered figure in the Catholic Church, and he was beatified by Pope Pius XI in 1929.
Another notable figure bearing the name Derian was Derian Le Breton, a 17th-century French Huguenot refugee who fled religious persecution and settled in England. He became a successful merchant and philanthropist, known for his contributions to the establishment of several charitable institutions in London.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Derian. While its usage may have been primarily concentrated in the Celtic regions of the British Isles, the name has transcended cultural boundaries and continues to be embraced by families across various backgrounds.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Derian
People
Derian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derian 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
Derian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,581 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derian 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 216,796 US residents.
Is Derian a common name?
We classify Derian as "Rare". It ranks above 92.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,608 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derian most popular?
The single biggest year for Derian was 1996, when 101 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derian is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Derian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,339 people with the name Derian, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,088 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 Derian 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 Derian?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derian leans strongly male. 1,175 people counted with this name were male (87.8%), compared with 164 female bearers (12.2%). 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 Derian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derian is Hispanic at 49.4%. The next largest groups are Black (23.3%) and White (20.5%). 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 Derian most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Derian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.4% (661 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 Derian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Derian a male name?
Yes, 91.6% of people registered as Derian 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 Derian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Derian 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 Derian 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 common is the name Derian?
See how many Americans are named Derian on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.