Skip to content
BrazilNames BrazilNames
PT

Meaning of the nameDerek

Derek is a masculine name of Germanic origin, an English form derived from Theodoric, meaning 'ruler of the people'.

Meaning

“ruler of the people”

Source: Wiktionary: Derek · Behind the Name: Derek · Behind the Name: Theodoric

More names that mean leadership

People (2022)
3,045
Rank in Brazil
#3,852
Median age
6 years
2010 Census
983
people

Derek in the 2022 Census

People with the first name Derek, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022 (1,058 people).

37 women 3,008 men

Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.

Where the name Derek is most common

States with the highest share of people named Derek in the population, in the 2022 Census.

  1. Rio de Janeiro 0.002%
  2. São Paulo 0.002%
  3. Santa Catarina 0.002%
  4. Rio Grande do Sul 0.002%
  5. Paraná 0.001%
All states
StatePeople% of population
São Paulo9930.002%
Rio de Janeiro3700.002%
Minas Gerais1970.001%
Rio Grande do Sul1670.002%
Paraná1620.001%
Santa Catarina1510.002%
Ceará1100.001%
Bahia1050.001%
Pernambuco960.001%
Pará830.001%
Amazonas740.002%
Goiás670.001%
Espírito Santo550.001%
Maranhão510.001%
Distrito Federal440.002%
Rio Grande do Norte420.001%
Piauí390.001%
Mato Grosso do Sul390.001%
Mato Grosso350.001%
Paraíba320.001%
Alagoas320.001%
Sergipe250.001%
Rondônia190.001%
Roraima180.003%
Acre160.002%

States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.

About the name Derek

Derek comes from Dederick, a Low German form of Theodoric, a name that reached England from the region of the Netherlands, according to Behind the Name. The elements of Theodoric are Gothic þiuda, 'people', and reiks, 'ruler'; this is the meaning of the base form. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 3,045 people named Derek, with a median age of 6. Dereck is the spelling of the same name with -ck.

The most common spelling in the group, without the c; most of those recorded were born from 2010 onward.

Other spellings of Derek

SpellingPeople (2022)
Derek3,045
Dereck1,188

Sources

  1. Wiktionary: Derek · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
  2. Behind the Name: Derek · behindthename.com · meaning
  3. Behind the Name: Theodoric · behindthename.com · meaning
  4. Wiktionary: Dereck · en.wiktionary.org · spelling

Questions about the name Derek

What does the name Derek mean?

Derek means “ruler of the people”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name.

How many people are named Derek in Brazil?

IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 3,045 people with the first name Derek, which ranks it number 3,852 among the country's names. The largest group was born in 2020 to 2022.

Is Derek a boy's or a girl's name?

Derek is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 37 women and 3,008 men had this name.

What is the origin of the name Derek?

Derek is a name of Germanic origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.

In which Brazilian state is Derek most common?

Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.002% of the state's population is named Derek (370 people), according to the 2022 Census.

What are the other spellings of Derek?

Dereck. IBGE counts each spelling separately.

Names that also mean leadership

See all

More names of Germanic origin

See all

Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Derek with a source. See the methodology.