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Derek

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For other uses, see Derek (disambiguation).

Derek
Pronunciation/ˈdɛrɪk/
GenderMale
Origin
Word/nameshort form of Diederik
Meaningsee Theodoric
Other names
Related namesDiederik, Dierk, Dieter, Dietrich, Dirk, Terry, Theodoric, Thierry, Tudor, Tudur

Derek is a masculine given name. It is the English language short form of Diederik, the Low Franconian form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler" or "lead the people".[citation needed]

Common variants of the name are Derrek, Derik, Deryck (included here), as well as Derrick and Derick.

History

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Further information: Theodoric

The English form of the name arises in the 15th century, via import from the Low Countries. The native English (Anglo-Saxon) form of the name was Deoric or Deodric, from Old English Þēodrīc, but this name had fallen out of use in the medieval period. During the Late Middle Ages, there was intense contact between the territories adjacent to the North Sea, in particular due to the activities of the Hanseatic League. As a result, there was a lot of cross-pollination between Low German, Dutch, English, Danish and Norwegian. The given name Derk is found in records of the Low Countries from the early 14th century, and in the spelling Derck becomes rather common in name lists compiled in the Habsburg Netherlands during the early 16th century.[1] An early bearer of the name Derek was lord of Keppel, Gelderland, in the early 14th century. A Derek van Keppel, lord of Verwoelde, died in 1495 and was succeeded by his eldest son, also called Derek van Keppel. A later Derek van Keppel died in 1646, succeeded by Asewolt van Keppel, the father of Arnold van Keppel, who in 1688 was created Earl of Albemarle in the Peerage of England.[2]

Given name "Derek"

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For variant spellings, see § Spelling variants.

Arts and entertainment

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A–M

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N–Z

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Sports

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A–M

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N–Z

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Business

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Politics

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Science, education and academics

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Writing

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Miscellaneous

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  • Derek Bentley (1933–1953), Englishman hanged for murder and subsequently pardoned
  • Derek Chauvin (born 1976), American former police officer convicted in the murder of George Floyd
  • Derek Anthony Seagrim (1903–1943), English soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
  • Derek Watson (priest) (born 1938), British retired churchman, former Dean of Salisbury in the Church of England
  • Derek Wood (c. 1964 – 1988), one of two British soldiers killed in the 1988 Corporals killings incident
  • Derek (horse) (born 1978), a Brazilian thoroughbred racehorse

Fictional characters

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Spelling variants

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Derik

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Derrek

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Deryck

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Popularity

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Since 1940, the peak of the popularity of the name Derek in the United States was in the 1980s.

Popularity ranks of "Derek" in the USA since 1943
Columns are years within decade.
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
2010s 170 181 182
2000s 121 132 139 149 156 172 159 142 159 168
1990s 54 59 62 67 77 83 101 106 110 114
1980s 50 53 50 51 52 56 57 54 53 54
1970s 77 63 67 69 74 83 84 82 75 72
1960s 247 205 187 177 172 166 141 123 122 109
1950s 470 407 363 378 362 331 300 283 256 254
1940s 714 953 ^ 956 891 862 641

Rank 1 is the most popular, rank 2 is the next most popular, and so forth.

^ Rank > 1000

Source: Social Security Administration.[3]

5
10
15
20
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010

[clarification needed][What does the vertical scale of this chart represent?]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ see Gerhard Dumbar, Het kerkelyk en wereltlyk Deventer (1752) for an edition of name lists of Deventer. See also Ubbo Emmius, De agro Frisiae inter Amasum et Lavicom Syntagma (1646) for an edition of late medieval name lists from Frisia.
  2. ^ Arthur Collins, The peerage of England (1779)
  3. ^ "Popular Baby Names". Social Security Administration.
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