The story behind Derek
Borrowed in the Middle Ages from a Middle Low German variant of Theodoric, and revived in the 19th century.
Pronunciation
English; dialect unspecified: /ˈdɛɹɪk/
Popularity
Derek ranked #284 in US for 2025.
Source: SSA national baby names
Names Similar to Derek
Darrick
A male given name from the Germanic languages, a less common spelling of Derek.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Dereck
A male given name from the Germanic languages, a less common spelling of Derek.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Derick
A male given name from the Germanic languages, variant of Derek.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Derrick
A male given name from the Germanic languages, variant of Derek.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Deryck
A male given name from the Germanic languages, a less common spelling of Derek.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Erick
A male given name from the Germanic languages, a rare spelling variant of Eric that can also be explained as a form of Frederick.
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends K
- same syllable count
- similar length
Middle Names for Derek
Abelard
From French Abélard, an extension of the Abel with an Germanic suffix -(h)ard. Possibly also regarded a variant of the German Eberhard "boar" + "hard", equivalent to English…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends D
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Adelaide
Borrowed from French Adélaïde, from Old High German Adalheid (from adal (“noble”) + heit (“nature, character”)), modern German Adelheid; doublet of Alice.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Adeline
From Old French Adeline, a diminutive form of Adela and Adele brought to England by the Normans.
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends E
- balanced syllable contrast
- good length contrast
Sibling Names for Derek
Abelard
From French Abélard, an extension of the Abel with an Germanic suffix -(h)ard. Possibly also regarded a variant of the German Eberhard "boar" + "hard", equivalent to English…
- Gender
- masculine
- Syllables
- 3 syllables
- Ending
- ends D
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Ada
Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide. Also Latinized form of Hebrew Adah. The programming language takes its name from Ada Lovelace. a…
- Gender
- feminine
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends A
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length
Adel
Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aþalaz. The female name is a rare variant of Adele. The surname is borrowed from German Adel. Variant of Adil, from Arabic عَادِل (ʕādil).
- Gender
- mixed
- Syllables
- 2 syllables
- Ending
- ends L
- shared origin connection
- balanced name length