Boys' name · peaked in 1980
Derrick name popularity since 1925
146,333 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Derrick (0.7% girls, 99.3% boys). Half of them were born in 1983 or earlier, so the typical Derrick is about 43 years old in 2026. Derrick peaked in 1980 as the #74 name for boys, and it ranked #850 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 146,333
- Named Derrick, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- #850
- for boys in 2025 (288 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.3% boys
- 997 girls · 145,336 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 3.02× its national share
Peak year is the year Derrick made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Derrick births per year, 1925–2025
1980 was the biggest year for Derrick both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1950 and 1955, Derrick became 3.3× more common, from 1 in 10,500 baby boys to 1 in 3,140.
- Steepest fall: Between 2019 and 2024, its share of baby boys fell by 45%, from 1 in 3,090 to 1 in 5,590.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Derrick's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Derrick.
Decade by decade
Babies named Derrick in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 0 | 12 | – |
| 1930s | 0 | 57 | Under 5 |
| 1940s | 0 | 333 | #1,456 |
| 1950s | 36 | 6,173 | #278 |
| 1960s | 190 | 21,192 | #129 |
| 1970s | 352 | 32,860 | #90 |
| 1980s | 326 | 36,342 | #83 |
| 1990s | 68 | 23,991 | #159 |
| 2000s | 25 | 13,531 | #245 |
| 2010s | 0 | 8,559 | #384 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 2,286 | #850 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000. "Under 5" means fewer than 5 boys got the name.
Generation fingerprint
35.1% of babies named Derrick from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Derrick is most popular
The index compares Derrick's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Derrick.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 3.02× | 2,020 |
| Louisiana | 2.53× | 6,578 |
| Mississippi | 2.40× | 4,208 |
| Alabama | 2.05× | 5,251 |
| South Carolina | 1.82× | 3,690 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Derrick and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Derrick (this page) | 145,336 | 1980 |
| Derick | 19,771 | 1980 |
| Derreck | 1,374 | 1983 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Derrick's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Derrick.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Derrick (1980).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data