Derrion
Of uncertain origin, possibly derived from French meaning "from the ridge".
Name Census estimates that about 1,481 living Americans carry the first name Derrion. It is a predominantly male name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Derrion today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Derrion births was 2008 (95 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Derrion. 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
1.5K
~ 1 in 231,434 Americans
Peak year
2008
95 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,905
Tracked since 1977
Census
Derrion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,110 people with the first name Derrion, which placed it at #11,508 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
#11,508
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,110 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Derrion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derrion is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Derrion 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 Derrion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.6% · 1,006
- Two or more races4.7% · 52
- Hispanic or Latino2.2% · 24
- White1.9% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Derrion
Derrion leans heavily male at 97.0% of total registrations, but 45 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Derrion as a male name
- Ranked #6,905 in 2024
- 12 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2007 (89 births)
Derrion as a female name
- Ranked #15,116 in 2013
- 6 female births in 2013
- Peak: 2009 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derrion leans strongly male. 1,040 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 71 female bearers (6.4%).
Popularity
Derrion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Derrion from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 655 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Derrion 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 Derrion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Derrions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Derrion, while Virginia, Michigan, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Derrion
The name Derrion is a modern variation of the French name Derrien, which is derived from the Breton word "derrien" meaning "oak tree." The name's origins can be traced back to the Brittany region of northwestern France, where the Breton language has been spoken since ancient times.
The earliest recorded use of the name Derrion can be found in historical records from the late 19th century, although it is possible that the name was used earlier in some regions of France. One of the first notable individuals with the name Derrion was Derrion Lachapelle, a French writer and poet born in 1885 in the city of Nantes.
In the early 20th century, the name Derrion began to gain popularity in other parts of Europe and North America, likely due to the influence of French culture and immigration. One notable bearer of the name was Derrion Baudet, a Belgian artist born in 1906 who was known for his avant-garde sculptures and paintings.
As the name spread to other parts of the world, it took on various spellings and pronunciations. In the United States, for example, the name is sometimes spelled as "Derrion" or "Derrian." One of the earliest recorded Americans with the name was Derrion Weston, a musician and composer born in 1920 in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Another notable figure with the name Derrion was Derrion Gaughran, an Irish writer and historian born in 1935. Gaughran was known for his extensive research and publications on the history and culture of Ireland.
In more recent times, the name Derrion has been associated with several athletes and entertainers. Derrion Dorsey, born in 1989, is an American football player who has played for various teams in the National Football League (NFL). Derrion Green, born in 1990, is a professional basketball player who has played in leagues around the world, including the NBA G League and overseas leagues.
People
Derrion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Derrion 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
Derrion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Derrion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,481 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Derrion 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 231,434 US residents.
Is Derrion a common name?
We classify Derrion as "Rare". It ranks above 92.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,504 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Derrion most popular?
The single biggest year for Derrion was 2008, when 95 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Derrion 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 Derrion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,110 people with the name Derrion, or 0.37 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,508 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 Derrion 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 Derrion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Derrion leans strongly male. 1,040 people counted with this name were male (93.6%), compared with 71 female bearers (6.4%). 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 Derrion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Derrion is Black at 90.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Hispanic (2.2%). 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 Derrion most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Derrion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.6% (1,006 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 Derrion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Derrion a male name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Derrion 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 Derrion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Derrion 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 Derrion 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 Derrion?
See how many Americans are named Derrion on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.