Durk

Boys' name

Form of Dirk

Durk has been given to 88 babies in the U.S. since 1954. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1954, with 17 recorded.

Babies named Durk, 1982

1 in 585,000

Durk over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Durk: meaning, origin, and history

Form of Dirk

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Durk means

Durk is a form of Dirk.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Durk is used in Frisian.

Meaning behind the documented name family

The name developed through Durk → Dirk → Dirk → Dietrich → Diotrīh. The family’s meaning is “people + king, ruler”, recorded in Old High German with the source elements diot and rih.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Dirk.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 88 boys were recorded with the name Durk between 1954 and 1982. Its highest annual count was 17 in 1954; its best national rank was #1,910 in 1954.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Durk?

Durk had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1982, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1982: 1 in 585,000; 6 of 3,507,638 births
Among boys only: 1 in 302,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1982: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 405,219 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Durk sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1982 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 405,219 children born in 1982 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Durk. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Durks were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Durk was born before 1958 — so the typical Durk is around 67 today.

Median birth year: 1958; About 67 years old
Biggest decade: 1950s; 59.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 55.7%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 88; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1950s — 59.1% of all recorded uses (52).

Is Durk rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1954 (17)
Years since peak: 71; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 20.9% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,910; 1954

Spellings of Durk

Durk is not the most common spelling — Mark is, with 72.2% against Durk's <0.01%.

Mark72.2%1,362,176
Derek12.7%239,060
Kurt4.6%85,858
Kirk3.6%68,067
Dick1.6%29,273
Curt0.88%16,680
Duke0.61%11,595
Dirk0.58%10,955

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Durk by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,910; 1954
Peak year: 1954; 17 that year
First recorded: 1954
Last recorded: 1982
All-time count: 88
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Durk

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Durl Durham Durin Durel Turk Durrel Kurk Burk Durron Durelle Duran Durante Duriel Duron Durant Durke Dural Durwin Durie Durand Durane Durbin Duryea Durell

Sibling names for Durk

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Marita Jacalyn Luanne Romona Louann Madonna Merry Gayla

For a brother

Stanton Stanford Lindsey Jerrold Leigh Garth Sandy Jacky

Explore around Durk

Top names of 1954, Durk's peak year The 1950s in full Other names that peaked in 1954 Boys' names starting with D