The baby name Deckard would fit with many of the edgy surname names we love now.
Thanks to DJ for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME DECKARD MEAN?
Deckard might be rare, but Decker is a fairly common surname that fits with plenty of twenty-first century favorites.
Decker is German, an occupational name for a roofer. (Or possibly a ditch digger. But let’s go with roofer.) The Dutch Dekker has the same meaning.
Back in 1989, a character named Decker Moss debuted on American soap opera General Hospital, giving the name a mini boost.
Deckert, Deckard, Deckhard, and Deckhart are sometimes-seen variations of the name.
Or not. It’s also possible that they come from old Germanic elements, tag – day – and hart – strong. Both elements appear in plenty of names, both forgotten and current. The Dictionary of Medieval Sources of European Names lists Tagibod, combining day and messenger. Names with -hart include Richard, Leonard, and Bernard.
Continued use of the surname Deckard means that at least some children received the family name as a first over the years.
BLADE RUNNER
The occupational surname was first boosted by character Rick Deckard.
Harrison Ford played the protagonist in 1982’s Blade Runner, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
Rick Deckard is a police offer charged with arresting rogue androids.
Ridley Scott directed the film adaptation.
The author explained that the character’s last name Deckard comes from seventeenth century French philosopher René Descartes. He’s famous for his statement: Cogito ergo sum – I think, therefore I am. It’s an appropriate sentiment for a movie focused on androids.
Blade Runner didn’t inspire parents to adopt the name for their children. At least not during the 1980s.
The film remains a cult classic, cited by other directors as inspiration, still broadly influencing cultural trends. It’s considered among the greatest science fiction films of all-time.
Sequels and spin-offs exist, too, with Rick Deckard a part of many of them.
THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS
Deckard moved into the first spot thanks to a very different kind of movie.
Long-running fast car franchise Fast & Furious introduced Deckard Shaw in Furious 7. Actually, Shaw appears in a brief scene in Fast and Furious 6, but it’s the 2015 movie – and seventh installment in the series – that sees him take center stage.
Jason Statham plays Shaw. He’s a bad guy, a rogue assassin with revenge on his mind.
Fun fact: the character was originally named Ian.
By the movie’s end, Shaw is locked up in a high security prison. But the adventures continue, with Jason Statham reprising the role through 2023’s Fast X. He even co-starred in Hobbs & Shaw in 2019, a movie focused on his character, along with Dwayne Johnson’s Hobbs.
The name Deckard Shaw appears on lists of villains and heroes alike. That’s because he eventually joins the team and fights on the side of the good guys.
MORE POP CULTURE MOMENTS
Besides Blade Runner and the Fast & Furious series, Deckard appears in:
- Web comic turned 2010s animated series Bee and PuppyCat. Deckard is Bee’s neighbor/love interest.
- Video game series Diablo, first issued in 1997, with character Deckard Cain. The series has continued to evolve, wtih the most recent installment released in 2023.
It’s a place name in at least two small towns, in Missouri and Pennsylvania.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME DECKARD?
Deckard debuted in the US popularity data in 2008. That’s long after Blade Runner but well before the Fast & Furious character. One possible reason? In 2008, a DVD special edition of the the movie was released, complete with lots of talk about Rick Deckard.
It might be just enough to explain the five births that year.
The baby name Deckard spent years on the fringes. After 2008, the name didn’t appear in US data again until 2011, when nine boys were given the name.
As of 2023, after many years of Jason Statham’s big screen appearances, 24 boys were named Deckard.
180 boys were named Decker, along with 15 Dekkers, so the sound is familiar in the United States.
STRONG and SURPRISING
Overall, the baby name Deckard remains nicely rare and quietly on trend.
A little more restrained than Decker, not as clearly tied to pop culture as Dutton, Deckard is a surname name with just a hint of polish and so much potential.
What do you think of the baby name Deckard?
First published on January 14, 2016, this post was revised on December 21, 2024.
Son was born two days ago. Deckard Cain Sanders. I’ll let you guess where that one came from. Yes, I’ve played the series since ’96 and Statham and Ford are totally cool. So there you have it. He is totally a cool miracle baby as well. People are already saying interesting things about him. This kid is going places, for real.
Named our son Deckard in 2008 – definitely after the Bladerunner character.
I know a Deckard born in 2013. His parents were inspired by Bladerunner and definitely trended toward surname/hero names. It’s not my style at all but I agree that this name is on the rise.