Derek is a male name. It is the English language short form of Dederik, the Low German form of the name Theodoric. Theodoric is an old Germanic name with an original meaning of "people-ruler".
Common variants of the name are Derrek, Derick, Derrick and Deric, more rarely also Dek, Deryck, Darack, or Derrok. The Dutch language short form of the same Low German / Low Franconian name is Dirk (popularised by the actor Dirk Bogarde) and the Low German Di(e)rk (Dierk Hoff).
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. 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.
Derek Acorah (born 1950), British TV personality
Derek Batey (born 1928), British TV presenter
Derek Benfield (born 1926), British actor and playwright
Derek Bogaerde a.k.a. Dirk Bogarde (1921–1999), British actor of Dutch/Scottish ancestry
Derek Bond (1920–2006), actor, director and playwright (won the Military Cross WW2)
Derek Brockway (born 1967), Welsh meteorologist and TV presenter
Derek Cecil (born 1973), American actor
Derek Deadman, British actor
Derek Dingle (1937–2004), English close-up magician who lived in New York
Derek Edwards (born 1958), Canadian stand-up comedian and actor
Derek Fowlds (born 1937), English actor
Derek Francis (1923–1984), British comedy and character actor
Derek Griffiths (born 1946), British actor
Derek Guille (born 1951), Australian radio presenter
Derek Hartley (born 1969), American radio talk-show host
Derek Jacobi (born 1938), English actor and director
Derek Kelly (born 1964), American actor and firefighter
Derek Kok Jing-Hung (born 1964), Hong Kong actor
Derek de Lint (born 1950), Dutch actor
Derek Luke (actor) (born 1974), American actor
Derek Martin (born 1933), English actor
Derek McCulloch (1897–1967), BBC radio presenter and producer
Derek McGrath (born 1951), Canadian actor
Derek Mooney (born 1967), Irish radio and TV personality and producer
Derek Newark (1933–1998), English actor
Derek Nimmo (1930–1999), English character actor
Derek Prince (1915–2003), American Christian radio preacher
Derek Prince (born 1969), American voice actor and radio host
Derek Richardson (born 1976), American actor
Derek Royle (1929–1990), English actor
Derek Taylor, Canadian news anchor and sportscaster
Derek Thompson (born 1948), Northern Irish TV actor
Derek Waring a.k.a. Derek Barton-Chapple (1927–2007), English actor
Athletics (track and field)
Derek Clayton (born 1942), British/Australian long-distance runner
Derek Ibbotson (born 1932), English track athlete
Derek Johnson (1933–2004), British track athlete
Derek Miles (born 1972), American field athlete (pole vault)
Derek Mills (born 1972), American track athlete
Derek Redmond (born 1965), English track athlete
Derek Bell (born 1968), former Major League Baseball player
Derek Holland (born 1986), American baseball player
Derek Jeter (born 1974), American baseball player (shortstop)
Derek Lilliquist (born 1966) American baseball player and coach
Derek Lowe (born 1973), American baseball player
Derek Anderson (born 1974), Professional basketball player
Derek Fisher (born 1974), American basketball player
Derek Grimm (born 1974), American basketball player
Derek Harper (born 1961), American basketball player and TV sports anchor
Derek Hood (born 1976), American basketball player
Derek Smith, (1961–1996), American basketball player
Derek Strong (born 1968), American basketball player and racing driver
Boxing and wrestling
Derek Bryant (born 1971), American heavyweight boxer
Dereck Chisora (born 1983), British heavyweight boxer
Derek Couch aka Robbie McAllister, Scottish member of Canadian tag wrestling team The Highlanders
Derek Burney Jr. (born 1962), Canadian corporate senior executive
Derek Lambie (born 1975), Scottish newspaper editor
Derek Smith, American business executive
Derek Bell (born 1941), F1 racing car driver
Derek Daly (born 1953), Irish F1 racing car driver
Derek Higgins (born 1966), Irish Indy Lights racing car driver
Derek Hill (born 1975), American former Formula 3000 driver
Derek Ringer (born 1956), Scottish rally driver
Derek Warwick (born 1954), English F1 racing car driver
Derek de Boorder (born 1985), New Zealand cricketer
Derek Crookes (born 1969), South African cricketer
Derek Hall (1932–1983), English cricketer
Derek Heasley (born 1972), Irish cricketer
Derek Kenway (born 1978), English cricketer
Derek Morgan (born 1929), English cricketer
Derek Pringle (born 1958), English cricketer and cricket journalist
Derek Randall (born 1951), English cricketer
Derek Sealy (born 1912), West Indian cricketer
Derek Shackleton (1924–2007), English cricketer
Derek Stirling (born 1961), New Zealand cricketer
Derek Ufton (born 1928), English cricketer
Derek Underwood (born 1945), English cricketer
Derek Varnals (born 1935), South African cricketer
Derek Drymon (born 1965), American writer and storyboard artist
Derek Ford (1932–1995), English film director/writer
Derek Harvie (born 1971), Canadian entertainment writer and producer, living in the U.S.
Derek R. Hill, film production designer
Derek Hough (born 1985), American dancer, choreographer, musician and actor
Derek Jarman (1942–1994), English film director, stage designer, artist and writer
Derek Lamb (1936–2005), American animation film-maker and producer
Derek Malcolm (born 1932), British film critic
Derek Meddings (1931–1995), British TV and cinema special effects expert
Derek Rath, photographer and radio programmer
Derek Smart, controversial designer of video games
Derek Yee (born 1957), Hong Kong film director
Derek Abney (born 1980), American football wide receiver
Derek Anderson (born 1983), NFL quarterback
Derek Darnell Brown (born 1971), American football player
Derek Cassidy (born 1986), American football player
Derek Combs (born 1979), American football player
Derek Cox (born 1986), American football player
Derek Curry (born 1981), American football player
Derek Dennis (born 1988), American football player
Derek Dooley (born c. 1968), American football player and coach
Derek Hagan (born 1984), American football player (wide receiver)
Derek Rackley (born 1977), American football player (tight end)
Derek Smith (born 1975), American football player (linebacker)
Derek Smith (born 1980), American football player (tight end)
Derek Asamoah (born 1981), Ghanaian footballer playing in Korea
Derek Bell (footballer) (born 1956), English football player
Derek Bellotti (born 1946), English football player
Derek Boateng (born 1983), Ghanaian footballer
Derek Collins (born 1969), Scottish footballer and football coach
Derek Dawkins (born 1959), English professional footballer
Derek Dooley (1929–2008), English footballer, manager and club chairman
Derek Dougan (1938–2007), Northern Irish footballer and club chairman
Derek Fazackerley (born 1951), English footballer and coach
Derek Ferguson (born 1967), Scottish footballer and club manager
Derek Geary (born 1980), Irish footballer who played in England
Derek Hales (born 1951), English footballer
Derek Hawksworth (born 1927), English footballer
Derek Holmes (born 1978), Scottish footballer
Derek Johnstone (born 1953), Scottish footballer
Derek Kevan (born 1935), English footballer
Derek Lilley (born 1974), Scottish footballer
Derek Lyle (born 1981), Scottish footballer
Derek McInnes (born 1971), Scottish footballer
Derek Mountfield (born 1962), English footballer
Derek Niven (born 1983), Scottish footballer
Derek Pace (1932–1989), English footballer
Derek Parker (born 1926), English footballer
Derek Parkin (born 1948), English footballer
Derek Parlane (born 1953), Scottish footballer
Derek Phillips (born 1975), Trinidad and Tobago footballer
Derek Popovich (born 1981), American footballer (soccer)
Derek Rae (born 1967), Scottish soccer commentator
Derek Reeves (1934–1995), English footballer
Derek Riordan (born 1983), Scottish footballer (striker)
Derek Rodier (born 1959), Scottish footballer
Derek Saunders (born 1928), English footballer
Derek Shaw, English football club chairman
Derek Smethurst (born 1948), South African footballer, author and sports consultant
Derek Soutar (born 1981), Scottish footballer (goalkeeper)
Derek Stillie (born 1973), Scottish footballer (goalkeeper)
Derek Tapscott (born 1932), Welsh footballer
Derek Temple (born 1938), English footballer
Derek Tracey (born 1971), Irish footballer
Derek Whyte (born 1968), Scottish footballer
Derek Edwards, rugby league footballer for Great Britain, Yorkshire, and Castleford
Derek Hallas, rugby union and rugby league footballer for Yorkshire (RU), Roundhay, Great Britain (RL), Yorkshire, Keighley, Leeds, and Parramatta Eels
Derek Howes, rugby league footballer for Wales, and Wakefield Trinity
Derek Murray (Gaelic footballer) Irish Gaelic footballer
Derek Noonan, rugby union and rugby league footballer for St. Helens (RU), England (RL), Lancashire, Warrington, St. Helens, and Fulham
Derek Turner (born 1933), rugby league footballer for Great Britain, England, Yorkshire, Hull Kingston Rovers, Oldham, and Wakefield Trinity
Derek Quinnell (born 1949), Welsh rugby union player
Derek Whitehead, rugby league footballer for Great Britain, Lancashire, Swinton, Oldham and Warrington
Derek Woodcock, Australian Rules football field umpire
Derek and the Dominos (active 1970–1971), blues-rock group
Derek Almstead (born 1974), musician/engineer
Derek Bailey (1930–2005), jazz guitarist
Derek Barbosa a.k.a. Chino XL (born 1971), American rapper
Derek Bell (musician) (1935–2002), Irish harpist and composer
Derek Bermel (born 1967), American composer, clarinetist and conductor
Derek Bloom, drummer of From First to Last
Derek Boland a.k.a. Derek B and EZQ (born 1965), British dj and rapper
Derek Bourgeois(born 1941), English composer
Derek Charke (born 1974), Canadian composer and flutist
Derek Dick a.k.a. Fish (born 1958), Scottish progressive rock singer/songwriter
Derek Forbes (born 1956), Scottish bassist
Derek Fudesco, bassist and vocalist with indie rock band Pretty Girls Make Graves
Derek Gledhill, American drummer member of alternative rock/post-grunge music group Smile Empty Soul
Derek Grant (drummer) (born 1977), drummer for punk band Alkaline Trio
Derek Hammond-Stroud (born 1926), English opera singer
Derek Leckenby (1943–1994), English musician and guitarist, member of Herman's Hermits
Derek Longmuir (born 1951), drummer with the Bay City Rollers
Derek Murphy (born 1968) a.k.a. Sadat X and Derek X, American rapper
Derek Murphy, American drummer and session musician
Derek O'Brien (born 1963), drummer and music producer
Derek Oldham (1887–1968), English tenor
Derek Paravicini (born 1979), English blind autistic savant and musical prodigy
Derek Pascoe (born 1957), American vocalist
Derek Pressnall, guitarist for the indie-pop group Tilly and the Wall
Derek Lee Ragin (born 1958), American singer
Derek Lee Rock a.k.a. Derek Lee Smith (born 1984), drummer in Suburban Legends
Derek Sherinian (born 1966), American keyboard musician, composer and producer
Derek Shulman (born 1947), Scottish singer/instrumentalist and record executive
Derek Sivers (born 1969) founder and former president of CD Baby
Derek Vincent Smith, a.k.a. Pretty Lights (born 1979), American electronic musician
Derek St. Holmes (born 1953), rock musician
Derek Thompson a.k.a. Hoodlum Priest, musician and record producer and engineer
Derek Trucks (born 1979), American blues-rock guitarist
Derek Wadsworth (born 1939), British composer and arranger
Derek Warfield (born 1943), Irish singer/songwriter and historian
Derek Webb (born 1974), American singer/songwriter
Derek Youngsma American drummer member of metalcore band Bleeding Through
Derek Campos (born 1988), American mixed martial artist
Derek Hardiman (born 1981), Irish hurling player
Derek Keenan (born 1961), Canadian lacrosse player
Derek Lyng (born 1978), Irish hurling player
Derek Malawsky (born 1973), Canadian lacrosse player
Derek Oldbury a.k.a. DEO (1924–1994), British draughts champion and writer on the game
Derek Piggott (born 1922), British glider pilot
Derek Porter (born 1967), Canadian rower
Derek Poundstone (born 1981), American professional strongman
Derek Trent (born 1980), American ice skater (pairs)
Derek Besant (born 1950), Canadian artist
Derek Boshier (born 1937), British pop artist
Derek Brueckner, (born 1965) Canadian artist
Derek Buckner, American realistic painter
Derek Erdman (born 1973), American artist
Derek Fordjour, artist/painter and documentary producer
Derek Hess, American poster and album-cover artist
Derek Hill (1916–2000), English portrait and landscape painter
Derek Kim (born 1974), American cartoonist
Derek Riggs (born 1958), British artist
Derek Barber a.k.a. Baron Barber of Tewkesbury (born 1918), British civil servant, agricultural expert and politician
Derek Beackon, English lorry driver and politician
Derek Bedson (1920–1989), Canadian civil servant
Derek Blackburn (born 1934), Canadian politician
Derek Brownlee (born 1974), Scottish politician
Derek Bryan (1910–2003), British diplomat
Derek Burney (born 1939), Canadian businessman, diplomat and political strategist
Derek Clark (born 1933), British politician and science teacher
Derek Conway (born 1953), British politician
Derek Coombs (born 1931), British politician and corporate executive
Derek Corrigan, Canadian politician
Derek Croxton American history researcher and writer
Derek Denton (born 1924), Australian scientist
Derek Draper (born 1967), English former lobbyist involved in Cash for Access scandal in 1999, subsequently a psychotherapist
Derek Enright (1935–1995), British politician
Derek Ezra a.k.a. Baron Ezra (born 1919) British politician and corporate executive
Derek Fatchett (1945–1999), British politician
Derek Fletcher (born 1951), Canadian politician born in England
Derek Foster (born 1937), British politician
Derek Freeman (1916–2001), New Zealand anthropologist
Derek Gregory (born 1951), British geographer
Derek Hatton (born 1948), English politician, businessman and after-dinner speaker
Derek Holland (activist), British politician and writer who uses several pen-names: Harry Worthington, Rory O'Connor, D. Liam O'Huallachain, Derek O'Huallachain, and Deric O'Huallachain
Derek Humphry (born 1930), writer of the suicide handbook Final Exit and president of the Euthanasia Research & Guidance Organization
Derek Hussey (born 1948), Northern Irish politician
Derek Insley, Canadian politician
Derek Keppel (1863–1944), British nobleman, soldier and member of the royal household
Derek Laud (born 1964), English political lobbyist
Derek Lee (born 1948), Canadian lawyer and politician
Derek Lodge (1929–1996), English civil servant and statistician
Derek McDowell (born 1958), Irish politician
Derek Mooney (born 1962), Irish ministerial adviser and [(Fianna Fáil)] campaign manager
Derek Moore-Brabazon (1910–1974), a UK baron - 2nd Baron Brabazon of Tara
Derek Morris, British academic formerly chairperson of the Competition Commission
Derek Nally (born 1936), policeman, campaigner and politician
Derek Oulton (born 1927), lawyer and civil servant
Derek Page (1927–2005) a.k.a. Baron Whaddon, British politician
Derek Prag, British politician
Derek Quigley (born 1932), New Zealand politician
Derek Robinson a.k.a. Red Tobbo, British motor industry shop steward
Derek Schofield, Chief Justice of Gibraltar
Derek Simpson (born 1944), British trade unionist
Derek Spencer (born 1936), British politician
Derek Taylor (born 1951), Caribbean politician
Derek Twigg (born 1959) English politician
Derek James Walding (born 1937), Canadian politician, born in England
Derek Walker-Smith a.k.a. Baron Broxbourne (1910–1992), British politician
Derek Wall, British politician
Derek Watkins British docker shop steward member of the "Pentonville Five"
Derek Watson (retired 2002), British churchman
"Derek Wee", name used in a controversial blog by Wee Siew Kim (born 1960), Singaporean politician
Derek Wells (born 1946), Canadian politician and lawyer
Derek Worlock (1920–1996), British Roman Catholic bishop
Derek Wyatt (born 1949), British politician
Science, education and academic
Derek Abbott (born 1960), physicist and electronic engineer
Derek Barton (1918–1998), British physical chemist and Nobel Prize Laureate
Derek Bickerton (born 1926), linguist and academic
Derek Birley (1926–2002), academic and educator
Derek Blake, academic and research scientist
Derek Bok (born 1930), American lawyer and educator
Derek Briggs (born c. 1945), Irish paleontologist
Derek Denny-Brown (1901–1981), British neurologist
Derek Hirst (born 1948), English historian of early-modern Britain
Derek Hockridge, British translator, lecturer and expert in French society and culture
Derek Hopwood, British academic and author
Derek Long (born 1925), former professor of structural chemistry at the University of Bradford, working in the field of Raman spectroscopy
Derek McCormack, New Zealand biochemist and academic
Derek Morley (1920–1969) independent science consultant and journalist noted for study of ants
Derek Parfit (born 1942), British philosopher and academic
Derek Price (1922–1983), information scientist and science historian
Derek Ratcliffe (1929–2005), British nature conservationist
Derek Roe, British paleolithic archeologist and academic
Derek Summerfield controversial psychiatrist and writer
Derek Taunt (1917–2004), British mathematician and codebreaker
Derek van der Kooy (born c. 1955), scientist and academic working in stem cell research
Derek Armstrong (born 1973), Canadian Professional Hockey Centerman
Derek Boogaard (1982–2011), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Campbell (born 1980), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Joslin (born 1987), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek King (born 1967), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek MacKenzie (born 1981), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Meech (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Morris (born 1978), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Parra (born 1970), Mexican-American speed skater (ice)
Derek Plante (born 1971), American ice hockey player
Derek Roy (born 1983), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Sanderson (born 1946), Canadian ice hockey player and business executive
Derek Smith, (born 1954), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Smith, (born 1984), Canadian ice hockey player
Derek Beaulieu (born 1973), Canadian poet, publisher and anthologist
Derek Benz, American author of children's fantasy
Derek Hansen (born 1944), New Zealand/Australia fiction writer, born in England
Derek Jameson (born 1929), British journalist
Derek Landy (born 1974), Irish author and screenwriter
Derek Mahon (born 1941), Irish poet
Derek Marlowe (1938–1996), English playwright, novelist and screenwriter
Derek McCormack, Canadian fiction writer
Derek Parker (born 1932), British writer and broadcaster
Derek Raymond a.k.a. Robert Cook (1931–1994), English noir writer
Derek Robinson (born 1932), British military aviation novelist and pilot
Derek Tangye (1912–1996), English author
Derek Taylor (1932–1997), British journalist and press agent for The Beatles
Derek Turner (born 1964), Irish journalist
Derek Walcott (born 1930), West Indian poet, playwright, writer and visual artist
Derek Wood (1930–2003), author of Jane's World Aircraft Recognition Handbook
Derek Bentley (1933–1953), Englishman hanged for murder and subsequently pardoned
Derek Anthony Seagrim (1903–1943), English soldier and recipient of the Victoria Cross
Derek Wood (c. 1964–1988), one of two British soldiers killed in the 1988 Corporals killings incident
Derrek
Derrek Konrad (born 1943), Canadian politician
Derrek Lee (born 1975), American former baseball player
Derrick
see Derrick (name)
Derick
Derick Heathcoat-Amory (1899–1981), British politician
Derick Armstrong (born 1979), American CFL football player
Derick Brassard (born 1987), Canadian hockey player
Derick Etwaroo (born 1964), Guyanese-born Canadian cricketer
Derick K. Grant (born 1973), American tap dancer and choreographer
Derick Hougaard (born 1983), South African rugby player
Derick Parry (born 1954), West Indian cricketer
Derick Thomson (1921–2012), Scottish poet
see also Special:Prefixindex/Derick
Deryck
Deryck Guyler (1914–1999), English actor
Deryck Whibley (born 1980), Canadian singer-songwriter
Unlike the forms Dietrich and Dieter, Derek has not traditionally been used as a surname. It was however, used as a pseudonym, and adopted as legal surname, by American actor John Derek (1926–1998), who was born Derek Delevan Harris, and via him by his daughter Sean Catherine Derek (born 1953) and his wife Bo Derek (born 1956).
Derek and Clive, controversial cult characters portrayed by Dudley Moore and Peter Cook
Derek the dark green diesel, character from Thomas the Tank Engine
Derek, character from the TV series Barney and Friends and Barney and the Backyard Gang
Derek the Midget, character played by radio personality Shuli
Derek the Sheep, eponymous character in a comic strip in the Beano
Derek Almond, character in the graphic novel V for Vendetta
Derek Blunt, anthropomorphic hawk in Darkwing Duck
Derek Branning, character in the BBC soap EastEnders
Derek Conway, character in British TV series The Bill
Derek Flint, eponymous character in Our Man Flint
Derek Frye, character in the ABC soap opera All My Children
Derek Harkinson, character in the BBC soap EastEnders
Derek Hale, character in Teen Wolf
Derek Jupiter, the lead singer of the fictional band "Iron Weasel" from I'm in the Band
Derek Klivian, pilot in the Rogue Squadron from Star Wars
Derek Morgan, senior special agent in Criminal Minds
Derek Noakes, eponymous character in the comedy-drama pilot Derek, created, written and played by Ricky Gervais
Derek O'Farrell, character in the British soap Brookside
Derek Powers a.k.a. Blight, supervillain in the animated series Batman Beyond
Derek Shepherd former Head of Neurosurgery at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital, in the American medical series Grey's Anatomy
Derek Smalls, character in the spoof rockumentary This Is Spinal Tap
Derek Stevens, character in Saturday Night Live musical sketches
Derek Stiles, character in the Trauma Center series of video games
Derek Trotter, character in the TV comedy series Only Fools and Horses
Derek Venturi, title character in the Canadian TV show Life with Derek
Derek Vinyard in American History X
Derek Wheeler a.k.a. "Wheels", character in the Degrassi series
Derek Wilton, character in the TV soap Coronation Street
Derek Zoolander, eponymous character in the film Zoolander
Prince Derek, Son of Queen Uberta, character in The Swan Princess
Sgt. Derek "Frost" Westbrook, a character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
Since 1940, the name Derek was most popular in the 1980s in the United States.
