Derk
A Dutch pet form of Diederik, a masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "leader of the people".
Name Census estimates that about 445 living Americans carry the first name Derk. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Derk today is around 56 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derk births was 1967 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derk. 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.
People living today
445
~ 1 in 770,234 Americans
Peak year
1967
27 babies that year
Average age
56
years old
1993 SSA rank
#9,093
Tracked since 1950
Census
Derk in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 604 people with the first name Derk, which placed it at #17,987 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
#17,987
National first-name rank
People counted
604
604 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Derk
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derk is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Derk 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 Derk at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.8% · 488
- Black or African American7.8% · 47
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 32
- Two or more races3.0% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 9
Popularity
Derk: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derk from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 167 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derk 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 Derk during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Derks live
Origin
Meaning and history of Derk
The name Derk originates from the Dutch language and is a variant of the ancient Germanic name Theodoric, which means "ruler of the people" or "powerful among the people." It is derived from the Proto-Germanic words "þeudō" meaning "people" and "rīks" meaning "ruler" or "powerful."
The name Derk has its roots in the medieval period, particularly in the Netherlands and parts of Germany. It was popular among the Frankish and Saxon tribes who inhabited these regions. The earliest known record of the name Derk dates back to the 9th century, where it appeared in various historical documents and records.
One of the earliest and most notable historical figures bearing the name Derk was Derk I, Count of Holland, who lived from around 920 to 988 AD. He was a prominent ruler of the County of Holland during the 10th century and played a significant role in the region's history.
Another notable individual with the name Derk was Derk Smits (1576-1634), a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his landscape and genre paintings. His works are highly regarded and can be found in various art museums across the Netherlands and Europe.
In the 17th century, Derk Berkhout (1638-1698) was a Dutch Golden Age painter and etcher who specialized in portraiture and genre scenes. He was a member of the Leiden Guild of St. Luke and his works are displayed in several museums, including the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
One of the more recent historical figures with the name Derk was Derk Hayder (1877-1944), a Dutch-born American architect. He designed numerous buildings in the Art Deco style, including the famous Rockefeller Center in New York City.
Derk Bodde (1909-2003) was a prominent American sinologist and historian, known for his contributions to the study of Chinese history and culture. He served as a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and authored several influential works on Chinese philosophy and society.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the name Derk. While the name has its origins in the Dutch and Germanic languages, it has been used across various cultures and regions, particularly in Europe and the United States.
People
Derk + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derk 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
Derk: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derk?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 445 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derk 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 770,234 US residents.
Is Derk a common name?
We classify Derk as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 506 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derk most popular?
The single biggest year for Derk was 1967, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derk is about 56 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Derk in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 604 people with the name Derk, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,987 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 Derk 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 Derk?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derk appears almost entirely male. Of the 607 people counted with this name, 99.7% 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 Derk?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derk is White at 80.8%. The next largest groups are Black (7.8%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Derk most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Derk in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.8% (488 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 Derk in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Derk a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Derk 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 Derk still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Derk 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 Derk 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 have the name Derk?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.