Boys' name · peaked in 1965
Darryl name popularity since 1925
93,339 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Darryl (1.2% girls, 98.8% boys). Half of them were born in 1964 or earlier, so the typical Darryl is about 62 years old in 2026. Darryl peaked in 1965 as the #68 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 93,339
- Named Darryl, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #2,115 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 98.8% boys
- 1,134 girls · 92,205 boys
- Most popular in
- District of Columbia
- 3.72× its national share
Peak year is the year Darryl 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.
Darryl births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1961. Measured as a share of all babies, Darryl peaked in 1965.
- Fastest rise: Between 1956 and 1961, Darryl became 3.4× more common, from 1 in 1,430 baby boys to 1 in 414.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, its share of baby boys fell by 72%, from 1 in 378 to 1 in 1,360.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Darryl's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Darryl.
Decade by decade
Babies named Darryl 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 | 0 | 91 | – |
| 1930s | 28 | 1,558 | #492 |
| 1940s | 151 | 5,750 | #278 |
| 1950s | 232 | 15,083 | #187 |
| 1960s | 353 | 39,200 | #68 |
| 1970s | 98 | 8,385 | #285 |
| 1980s | 152 | 10,313 | #215 |
| 1990s | 106 | 6,545 | #423 |
| 2000s | 8 | 2,922 | #763 |
| 2010s | 6 | 1,788 | #1,039 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 570 | #2,115 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
45.8% of babies named Darryl from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Darryl is most popular
The index compares Darryl'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 Darryl.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 3.72× | 1,542 |
| Louisiana | 2.23× | 3,599 |
| Hawaii | 2.18× | 612 |
| Alabama | 1.82× | 2,897 |
| Maryland | 1.71× | 2,351 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Darryl 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Darryl (this page) | 92,205 | 1965 |
| Daryl | 62,351 | 1970 |
| Darrel | 28,305 | 1939 |
| Daryll | 1,697 | 1966 |
| Darryll | 1,366 | 1965 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Darryl's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Darryl.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Darryl (1965).
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