Dirk is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Dirk means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Dirk across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Dirk has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Dirk is a boy name of Germanic origin meaning “ruler of the people”. A Dutch form of Derek, from Theodoric.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 10,955 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 22 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Dirk per year, United States (1918 to 2025). United States peaked in 1954 (438/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 1997 (4/yr).
Dirk has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1954, when it ranked #751 nationally (given to 438 babies that year).
Derek · Derick · Dereck · Derik · Derrek · Derrik · Darek · Darick
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