Derek

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Derek: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Derek: Recorded every year since 1954, it reached #22 in 1972, and it stood at #432 in 2025.

5registrars recorded it
108times a registrar ranked it
72years from first to last
#22highest recorded position
23groupings it qualifies for
11names it appears alongside

What stands out in Derek's record

Ranked every year since 1954, without a single year missing. Names by continuity of record
Held a top-100 place for 38 years running. Names by top-100 run
Shares a published list with another name across 60 years. Longest shared records

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#464
1997	#809
1998	#544
1999	#906
2000	#848
2001	#1078
2002	#1128
2003	#1326
2004	#999
2005	#1456
2006	#1168
2007	#1053
2008	#1596
2009	#1099
2010	#1344
2011	#1158
2012	#1086
2013	#1404
2014	#1144
2015	#1586
2016	#1570
2017	#1210
2018	#1533
2019	#1655
2020	#1635
2021	#1329
2022	#1179
2023	#1407
2024	#1108

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in Republic of Ireland in 60 of the 62 years from 1964 to 2025.

In 2024: #472 among boys in Republic of Ireland, #727 among boys in Scotland, #1108 among boys in England and Wales.

Official data from 5 national registrars across 5 regions, 1954–2025 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1954
First recorded at #89 among boys in New Zealand in 1954 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
New Zealand · Boys
Highest recorded1964–2025
Highest recorded position: #22 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1972 (recorded 1964–2025).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2025
Most recently recorded at #432 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 2025.
Republic of Ireland · Boys

Derek appears in 3 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is Republic of Ireland · Boys, with 60 ranked years and 8,119 births registered; the earliest is New Zealand · Boys, from 1954.

Derek across 3 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Derek's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#30 (1964)	#22 (1972)	#432 (2025)	60 of 62	8,119 (1964–2025)	355 (1976)
England and Wales · Boys	#464 (1996)	#464 (1996)	#1108 (2024)	29 of 29	567 (1996–2024)	40 (1996)
New Zealand · Boys	#89 (1954)	#76 (1958)	#95 (1970)	17 of 17	1,307 (1954–1970)	99 (1961)

Derek by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Derek in Republic of Ireland · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1960s	1,693	6 of 10	282
1970sbusiest	3,335	10 of 10	334
1980s	2,347	10 of 10	235
1990s	501	10 of 10	50
2000s	139	10 of 10	14
2010s	67	9 of 10	7
2020s	37	5 of 10	7

Across Republic of Ireland · Boys, the 1970s were its busiest decade, averaging 334 births a year.

Its sharpest single-year move came between 1986 and 1987, when recorded births fell by 77, from 212 to 135.

See the names Republic of Irelandhas recorded the most births with →

Derek appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1954 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #22 in Republic of Ireland in 1972.

Derek's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#1108	26	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1407	18	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1179	23	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1329	19	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1635	14	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1655	14	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1533	16	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#1210	22	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#1570	16	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1586	15	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#1144	23	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#1404	17	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#1086	25	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1158	22	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#1344	18	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#1099	23	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#1596	13	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#1053	23	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#1168	18	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#1456	13	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#999	20	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1326	12	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#1128	14	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#1078	14	High	Verified
2000	England and Wales	male	#848	19	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#906	17	High	Verified
1998	England and Wales	male	#544	34	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#809	19	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#464	40	High	Verified
1970	New Zealand	male	#95	68	High	Verified
1969	New Zealand	male	#96	66	High	Verified
1968	New Zealand	male	#81	94	High	Verified
1967	New Zealand	male	#84	79	High	Verified
1966	New Zealand	male	#76	91	High	Verified
1965	New Zealand	male	#93	65	High	Verified
1964	New Zealand	male	#82	80	High	Verified
1963	New Zealand	male	#79	87	High	Verified
1962	New Zealand	male	#83	83	High	Verified
1961	New Zealand	male	#77	99	High	Verified
1960	New Zealand	male	#84	77	High	Verified
1959	New Zealand	male	#77	84	High	Verified
1958	New Zealand	male	#76	88	High	Verified
1957	New Zealand	male	#87	68	High	Verified
1956	New Zealand	male	#79	66	High	Verified
1955	New Zealand	male	#89	53	High	Verified
1954	New Zealand	male	#89	59	High	Verified
1998	Northern Ireland	male	#272	3	High	Verified
2025	Republic of Ireland	male	#432	8	High	Verified
2024	Republic of Ireland	male	#472	7	High	Verified
2023	Republic of Ireland	male	#343	11	High	Verified
2022	Republic of Ireland	male	#509	6	High	Verified
2021	Republic of Ireland	male	#552	5	High	Verified
2018	Republic of Ireland	male	#435	8	High	Verified
2017	Republic of Ireland	male	#610	4	High	Verified
2016	Republic of Ireland	male	#448	7	High	Verified
2015	Republic of Ireland	male	#554	5	High	Verified
2014	Republic of Ireland	male	#468	7	High	Verified
2013	Republic of Ireland	male	#479	6	High	Verified
2012	Republic of Ireland	male	#379	10	High	Verified
2011	Republic of Ireland	male	#366	11	High	Verified
2010	Republic of Ireland	male	#400	9	High	Verified
2009	Republic of Ireland	male	#429	7	High	Verified
2008	Republic of Ireland	male	#267	17	High	Verified
2007	Republic of Ireland	male	#271	14	High	Verified
2006	Republic of Ireland	male	#282	11	High	Verified
2005	Republic of Ireland	male	#283	9	High	Verified
2004	Republic of Ireland	male	#233	12	High	Verified
2003	Republic of Ireland	male	#187	16	High	Verified
2002	Republic of Ireland	male	#185	17	High	Verified
2001	Republic of Ireland	male	#190	15	High	Verified
2000	Republic of Ireland	male	#158	21	High	Verified
1999	Republic of Ireland	male	#136	25	High	Verified
1998	Republic of Ireland	male	#162	16	High	Verified
1997	Republic of Ireland	male	#130	33	High	Verified
1996	Republic of Ireland	male	#122	40	High	Verified
1995	Republic of Ireland	male	#104	49	High	Verified
1994	Republic of Ireland	male	#106	49	High	Verified
1993	Republic of Ireland	male	#98	57	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#101	56	High	Verified
1991	Republic of Ireland	male	#78	80	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#73	96	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#72	91	High	Verified
1988	Republic of Ireland	male	#59	124	High	Verified
1987	Republic of Ireland	male	#56	135	High	Verified
1986	Republic of Ireland	male	#45	212	High	Verified
1985	Republic of Ireland	male	#41	234	High	Verified
1984	Republic of Ireland	male	#40	273	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#36	277	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#35	321	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#31	332	High	Verified
1980	Republic of Ireland	male	#32	348	High	Verified
1979	Republic of Ireland	male	#31	301	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#28	324	High	Verified
1977	Republic of Ireland	male	#27	338	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#26	355	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#28	318	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#28	335	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#27	341	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#22	346	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#24	335	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#24	342	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#24	331	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#26	317	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#29	273	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#28	280	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#30	255	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#30	237	High	Verified
2024	Scotland	male	#727	3	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
New Zealand hub — collected by NZ Department of Internal Affairs
Northern Ireland hub — collected by NISRA
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland
Scotland hub — collected by National Records of Scotland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 5 registrars between 1954 and 2025, ranked in 72 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #22, first reached in 1972.

It held a top-100 place in 39 years, 38 of them consecutive.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 355 births, registered in Republic of Ireland in 1976.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1964, and 70 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Deon · #243, 29y
Dereck · #196, 17y
Deri · #1591, 25y
Derick · #170, 43y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 5 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Denise · #22, 73y
Janice · #22, 73y
Jeanette · #23, 68y
Therese · #21, 72y

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1950 and 1959.

Brent · #22, 63y
Denise · #22, 73y
Janice · #22, 73y
Tony · #22, 74y

Comparisons involving Derek

Existing comparison pages where Derek and another name were ranked in the same published list, in the same years, on the same scale. Each has its own evidence; none of them says the names are alike.

Longest shared records

Names ranked alongside Derek in the same published list across at least 25 years.

Mark vs Derek
In 1964 they stood at #28 and #30 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 2 places apart; by 2025 they were #99 and #432.
Mark · Derek · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Robert vs Derek
In 1964 they stood at #22 and #30 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 8 places apart; by 2025 they were #104 and #432.
Robert · Derek · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Andrew vs Derek
In 1964 they stood at #34 and #30 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 4 places apart; by 2025 they were #106 and #432.
Andrew · Derek · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Pairs involving Derek measured in Republic of Ireland's own published lists — the registrar that recorded Derek at its highest position.

Christopher vs Derek
In 1964 they stood at #27 and #30 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 3 places apart; by 2025 they were #121 and #432.
Christopher · Derek · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Sean vs Derek
In 1964 they stood at #38 and #30 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, 8 places apart; by 2025 they were #141 and #432.
Sean · Derek · 60 shared years, 1964–2025 · Started together, ended far apart
See the 2025 Republic of Ireland ranking
Kenneth vs Derek
Kenneth and Derek changed places 18 times in Republic of Ireland · Boys between 1964 and 2024, ending at #785 and #472.
Kenneth · Derek · 58 shared years, 1964–2024 · Repeatedly exchanged positions
See the 2024 Republic of Ireland ranking

Republic of Ireland overview→

Derek was ranked #22 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1972. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Derek and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Derek without appearing here.

Derek moved ahead of

Gary Compare
In 2021 they stood at #1329 and #1329 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2022 that had become #1179 and #2018.
Calum Compare
In 2020 they stood at #1635 and #1192 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2021 that had become #1329 and #1984.
Jon Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1407 and #1407 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #1108 and #1758.
Grant Compare
In 2008 they stood at #1596 and #1085 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2009 that had become #1099 and #1568.

Moved ahead of Derek

Filip Compare
In 2004 they stood at #999 and #1160 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1456 and #615.
Conan Compare
In 2014 they stood at #1144 and #1281 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #1586 and #996.
Tadhg Compare
In 2014 they stood at #1144 and #1630 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2015 that had become #1586 and #996.
Hudson Compare
In 2004 they stood at #999 and #1160 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2005 that had become #1456 and #982.

Moved the opposite way to Derek

Alexander Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 while Alexander went from #116 to #55.
Benjamin Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 while Benjamin went from #139 to #83.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 while Conor went from #56 to #16.
Liam Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 while Liam went from #54 to #7.

Moved the same way as Derek

Adrian Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 and Adrian from #65 to #348.
Alfred Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 and Alfred from #134 to #286.
Denis Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 and Denis from #21 to #232.
Edward Compare
Between 1964 and 2025 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Derek went from #30 to #432 and Edward from #18 to #125.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 5 regions, from 1954 to 2025. Highest recorded position: #22 in Republic of Ireland in 1972. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Derek

Derek at a glance

What stands out in Derek's record

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Derek across 3 official records

Derek by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Derek appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Derek

Longest shared records

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Names published alongside Derek

Derek and the names beside it

Derek moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Derek

Moved the opposite way to Derek

Moved the same way as Derek

Derek at a glance

What stands out in Derek's record

Derek across 3 official records

Derek by decade in Republic of Ireland · Boys

Derek appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1950s

Comparisons involving Derek

Longest shared records

Compared inside Republic of Ireland lists

Names published alongside Derek

Derek and the names beside it

Derek moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Derek

Moved the opposite way to Derek

Moved the same way as Derek