Girls' name · peaked in 1958
Darlene name popularity since 1925
202,230 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Darlene. Half of them were born in 1955 or earlier, so the typical Darlene is about 71 years old in 2026. Darlene peaked in 1958 as the #49 name for girls, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 202,230
- Named Darlene, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,847 for girls in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 201,626 girls · 604 boys
- Most popular in
- North Dakota
- 3.26× its national share
Peak year is the year Darlene 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.
Darlene births per year, 1925–2025
1958 was the biggest year for Darlene both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1928 and 1933, Darlene became 2.3× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 1969 and 1974, its share of baby girls fell by 52%, from 1 in 686 to 1 in 1,440.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Darlene's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Darlene.
Decade by decade
Babies named Darlene 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 | 5,213 | 12 | – |
| 1930s | 25,956 | 109 | #91 |
| 1940s | 40,321 | 140 | #71 |
| 1950s | 61,886 | 138 | #76 |
| 1960s | 43,527 | 150 | #83 |
| 1970s | 11,484 | 48 | #265 |
| 1980s | 5,184 | 7 | #456 |
| 1990s | 3,348 | 0 | #750 |
| 2000s | 2,372 | 0 | #1,062 |
| 2010s | 1,685 | 0 | #1,439 |
| 2020–25 | 650 | 0 | #1,847 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
53.8% of babies named Darlene from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Darlene is most popular
The index compares Darlene'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 Darlene.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| North Dakota | 3.26× | 2,064 |
| South Dakota | 3.07× | 1,965 |
| Montana | 2.05× | 1,205 |
| Iowa | 1.92× | 4,890 |
| Nebraska | 1.92× | 2,698 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Darlene and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Darlene (this page) | 201,626 | 1958 |
| Darline | 4,446 | 1927 |
| Darlyne | 1,278 | 1935 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Darlene's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Darlene.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Darlene (1958).
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