Given name & surname
Derick
“the ruler of the tribe”
In English use, Derick has a related form in Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Derick has a related form in Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Derick has a related form in Derek. An origin associated with Derek is Low German. In English use, Derick is a diminutive of Roderick. An origin associated with Roderick is Germanic.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Derick is used as a variant of Derek. In Scottish use, Derick is used as a shortened form of Roderick.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1945. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Derick is a diminutive of Roderick. The history of Roderick gives this family its wider story. Walter Scott’s The Vision of Don Roderick helped revive the name in the nineteenth century, using it for the Spanish king Rodrigo. Roderick has also served as an English rendering of Gaelic Ruairidh and Welsh Rhydderch, without making those names etymologically identical.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Derick through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 19,810
- 19,771 boys · 39 girls
- Most popular year
- 1989
- 571 babies
- 2025
- 120
- #1,478 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −16%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 120 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,478 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 15.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 571 in 1989. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (18). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 16,739 as a first name in 2020; 327 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Derick’s family of names
Derick is a short form of Roderick. Derick has a related form in Derek. In English usage, Derick has a conventional equivalent in the Scottish Gaelic form Ruairidh.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Derick
- Derick OgbuNigerian association football playerborn 1990
- Derick BrassardCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1987
- Derick Baegertpainter (1440-1515)
- Derick Heathcoat-Amory, 1st Viscount AmoryBritish politician and government minister (1899–1981)
- Derick SilvaBrazilian athletics competitorborn 1998
- Derick MartiniAmerican screenwriter and directorborn 1972
- Derick ThomsonScottish poet (1921–2012)
- Derick HougaardSouth African rugby union footballerborn 1983
- Derick HallAmerican football player (born 2001)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Derick, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Reynaldo
“the king's advisor”
>99% boys
Delric
“the king”
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Delrico
“the king”
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Fitzroy
“the son of Roy”
>99% boys
Cerdic
“a king”
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Rodolfo
“glorious wolf”
>99% boys
Enrique
“the ruler of the estate”
>99% boys
Kenric
“a royal ruler” · “the champion”
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