Given name & surname
Derk
“the ruler of the tribe”
Derk is a variant of Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Derk is a variant of Derek. One English interpretation is “the ruler of the tribe.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Derk is a variant of Derek. An origin associated with Derek is Low German.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1950. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Derk through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 506
- 506 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1967
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1993. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 27 in 1967. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 607 as a first name in 2020; 460 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.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Derk
- Derk BoerrigterDutch association football player (born 1986)
- Derk Jan EppinkDutch politicianborn 1958
- Derk SauerDutch journalist (1952–2025)
- Derk van EgmondDutch cyclistborn 1956
- Derk BoddeAmerican academic and sinologist (1909–2003)
- Derk CheetwoodAmerican actorborn 1973
- Derk-Elsko BruinsDutch military officer, senior squad leader in the Waffen SS during World War II (1923–1986)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Derk, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Darrick
“an oak-hearted man; one who is strong”
>99% boys
Darek
“the ruler of the tribe”
>99% boys
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys
Darin
“a great man” · “a gift from God”
99% boys · 1% girls
Darrin
“a great man” · “a gift from God”
>99% boys
Daren
“one who is born at night”
>99% boys
Dewayne
“a dark or swarthy man”
>99% boys
Demond
“man of the mountain”
>99% boys