Boys' name · peaked in 1958
Darrell name popularity since 1925
157,012 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Darrell (0.7% girls, 99.3% boys). Half of them were born in 1961 or earlier, so the typical Darrell is about 65 years old in 2026. Darrell peaked in 1958 as the #90 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 157,012
- Named Darrell, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,691 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 99.3% boys
- 1,161 girls · 155,851 boys
- Most popular in
- West Virginia
- 2.45× its national share
Peak year is the year Darrell 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.
Darrell births per year, 1925–2025
1958 was the biggest year for Darrell both by count and as a share of all babies.
- Fastest rise: Between 1927 and 1932, Darrell became 1.8× more common.
- Steepest fall: Between 2017 and 2022, its share of baby boys fell by 44%, from 1 in 7,710 to 1 in 13,700.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Darrell's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Darrell.
Decade by decade
Babies named Darrell 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 | 40 | 3,049 | – |
| 1930s | 103 | 11,126 | #136 |
| 1940s | 172 | 18,225 | #141 |
| 1950s | 198 | 37,257 | #91 |
| 1960s | 258 | 38,025 | #91 |
| 1970s | 217 | 20,072 | #147 |
| 1980s | 129 | 13,162 | #190 |
| 1990s | 31 | 7,556 | #378 |
| 2000s | 8 | 4,108 | #575 |
| 2010s | 5 | 2,536 | #935 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 735 | #1,691 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
42.7% of babies named Darrell from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Darrell is most popular
The index compares Darrell'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 Darrell.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| West Virginia | 2.45× | 3,336 |
| South Dakota | 2.43× | 1,202 |
| Kentucky | 2.32× | 6,028 |
| Oklahoma | 1.99× | 4,021 |
| North Dakota | 1.97× | 961 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Darrell 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Darrell (this page) | 155,851 | 1958 |
| Darrel | 28,305 | 1939 |
| Darell | 5,332 | 1986 |
| Darel | 2,058 | 1940 |
| Darryll | 1,366 | 1965 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Darrell's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Darrell.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Darrell (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