WeeNames Scotland’s favourite name finder

← All names

Deryck

Boy name · 21 babies recorded · 1974–2025

Deryck: 21 babies born in Scotland since 1974, given to boys, peaking at 5 births in 1982.

Deryck is a variant spelling of Derek, which originated as a Low German and Dutch diminutive of Theodoric, itself from the Old Germanic *Þeudarīks*, meaning "ruler of the people." The most famous bearer is Deryck Guyler, the beloved Scottish-born actor best known for his comic roles in British television shows like *Please Sir!* and *Doctor Finlay’s Casebook*. Another prominent figure is Deryck Cooke, the English musicologist who completed Gustav Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony. While no major places are named after a Deryck, the root Theodoric appears in place names like Thierry in France and derives from the same elements as the Scottish surname MacIndeor. The spelling Deryck, rather than Derek, saw a small peak in Scotland in the 1960s before becoming much rarer today.

Boy 6 of 52 years

Peak year
19825 babies
Latest (1982)
#2565 babies
Total births
21since 1974
5-year trend
▲ 20%vs prior 5y
1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 1982 · 5
Births per year in Scotland. Missing years had a count of 2 or fewer (suppressed by NRS).