Girls' name · peaked in 1963

Darla name popularity since 1925

43,687 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Darla. Half of them were born in 1963 or earlier, so the typical Darla is about 63 years old in 2026. Darla peaked in 1963 as the #165 name for girls, and it ranked #941 in 2025.

US babies since 1925: 43,687; Named Darla, 1925–2025
Peak year: 1963; #165 for girls that year
Typical age: About 63; Median birth year 1963
In 2025: #941; for girls in 2025 (275 babies)
Girls / boys: 99.9% girls; 43,660 girls · 27 boys
Most popular in: South Dakota; 5.08× its national share

Peak year is the year Darla made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.

Darla births per year, 1925–2025

1963 was the biggest year for Darla both by count and as a share of all babies.

Fastest rise: Between 1954 and 1959, Darla became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 2,770 baby girls to 1 in 1,210.
Steepest fall: Between 1981 and 1986, its share of baby girls fell by 54%, from 1 in 5,810 to 1 in 12,600.

Shaded on the chart. Both compare Darla's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Darla.

Decade by decade

Babies named Darla in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).

Decade	Girls	Boys	Rank
1925–29	26	0	–
1930s	1,206	0	#672
1940s	4,229	0	#408
1950s	9,599	6	#292
1960s	16,340	16	#208
1970s	5,382	5	#460
1980s	1,996	0	#903
1990s	968	0	#1,371
2000s	1,059	0	#1,859
2010s	1,588	0	#1,679
2020–25	1,267	0	#941

Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.

Generation fingerprint

49.3% of babies named Darla from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:

Where Darla is most popular

The index compares Darla's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Darla.

State	Index	Babies
South Dakota	5.08×	649
Oklahoma	3.52×	1,837
North Dakota	2.59×	328
Iowa	2.38×	1,211
Idaho	2.21×	353

Names with a similar story

Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Darla's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Darla.

Names from the same era

Other common names that peaked within two years of Darla (1963).

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data