The word derby is actually a literal translation of the name of a place in the United Kingdom, derived from the English county of Derbyshire and the city of Derby to the south. However, even among the homegrown English fans who regularly refer to the derby, few can tell how the name is linked to the world of football.
There are three of the most popular theories about the origins of the derby. The first claim is that the derby stems from the rivalry between Liverpool and Everton. At that time, the two teams were separated from each other by Stanley Park, which was owned by the Earl of Derby at the time. As a result, people began to refer to the competition between rivals in the same city as a derby. However, this claim was later proven false, as the 1889 Widnes Newsweek referred to the match between the two local rugby teams as a derby, and Liverpool did not establish it until three years later, in 1892.
The second theory is that Derby originated in the small town of Ashburn in Derbyshire. Since the 12th century, the people of the town have held a large athletic event similar to football every year on Shroveday. The competition is huge in scale and has a large number of participants, but despite its resemblance to football, the rules are more like an eight-hour mini-marathon or a live-action version of the Chu River Han Realm . Although this statement is not officially recognized, it has also become one of the etymologies of derby because it involves keywords such as local city, goal and Derby County.
A third theory holds that the derby originated in horse racing. In 1779, the 12th Earl of Derby founded the famous Oak Race, which was limited to three-year-old thoroughbred mares. The Earl of Derby also co-organised a three-year-old stallion race with Jockey Club Trustee Sir Banbury, which he named the Yessen Derby. This usage is even written into the Oxford English Dictionary.
Although it is impossible to verify whether these claims are true or false, the derby in the world of football has been recognized by almost everyone as having its origins in Derby County. Now, all over the world, fans of different languages and accents have added the word to their football dictionaries.