Boys' name · peaked in 1984
Darnell name popularity since 1925
30,813 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Darnell (7.6% girls, 92.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1981 or earlier, so the typical Darnell is about 45 years old in 2026. Darnell peaked in 1984 as the #281 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 30,813
- Named Darnell, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,423 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 92.4% boys
- 2,343 girls · 28,470 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 6.47× its national share
Peak year is the year Darnell made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Darnell births per year, 1925–2025
1984 was the biggest year for Darnell both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1948 and 1953, Darnell became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 16,100 baby boys to 1 in 7,220.
- Steepest fall: Between 1996 and 2001, its share of baby boys fell by 38%, from 1 in 4,600 to 1 in 7,360.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Darnell's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Darnell.
Decade by decade
Babies named Darnell in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 41 | 99 | – |
| 1930s | 78 | 294 | #1,148 |
| 1940s | 417 | 633 | #840 |
| 1950s | 588 | 2,969 | #395 |
| 1960s | 600 | 3,689 | #422 |
| 1970s | 344 | 4,828 | #361 |
| 1980s | 206 | 6,294 | #305 |
| 1990s | 59 | 4,514 | #515 |
| 2000s | 0 | 2,878 | #707 |
| 2010s | 10 | 1,772 | #1,224 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 500 | #2,423 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
30.8% of babies named Darnell from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Millennial years (1981–1996). The full split by generation:
Where Darnell is most popular
The index compares Darnell'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 Darnell.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 6.47× | 766 |
| Maryland | 2.81× | 1,101 |
| Louisiana | 2.71× | 1,250 |
| Illinois | 2.34× | 2,940 |
| Michigan | 2.02× | 1,991 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Darnell and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Darnell (this page) | 28,470 | 1984 |
| Darnel | 1,006 | 1986 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Darnell's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Darnell.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Darnell (1984).
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