Derek

English

From the older English name Dederick, which was in origin a Low German form of Theodoric. It was imported to England from the Low Countries in the 15th century, meaning "From a Germanic name meaning "ruler of the people", derived from the elements theud "people" and ric "power, ruler". It was notably borne by Theodoric the Great, a 6th-century king of the Ostrogoths who eventually became the ruler of Italy. By Theodoric's time the Ostrogoths were partially Romanized and his name was regularly recorded as Theodoricus. The Gothic original may have been Þiudreiks."