Given name
Darek
“the ruler of the tribe”
Darek is a form of Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Darek carries the interpretation “the ruler of the tribe.” Darek is a form of Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
Darek is used as a form of Derek.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1957. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Darek through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,561
- 1,561 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1973
- 53 babies
- 2025
- 27
- #3,970 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +161%
- Rising fast
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 27 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 3,970 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 160.7% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 53 in 1973. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,487 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Darek’s family of names
In Polish usage, Darek is a diminutive of DARIUSZ. Darek is a form of Derek. In Polish usage, Darek is a shortened form of DARIUSZ.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Darek
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Darek, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys
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Darren
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>99% boys
Darnell
“a secretive woman” · “from the hidden place”
>99% boys
Chadwick
“from Chad's dairy farm”
>99% boys
Delvin
“a godly friend”
98% boys · 2% girls
Charlton
“from the free man's town”
>99% boys
Toma
Toma is a masculine given name from English. It is used in Italian, Lithuanian, and Tokelauan.
>99% boys