Boys' name · peaked in 1970
Daryl name popularity since 1925
66,720 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Daryl (6.5% girls, 93.5% boys). Half of them were born in 1965 or earlier, so the typical Daryl is about 61 years old in 2026. Daryl peaked in 1970 as the #161 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 66,720
- Named Daryl, 1925–2025
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,529 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 93.5% boys
- 4,369 girls · 62,351 boys
- Most popular in
- South Dakota
- 2.74× its national share
Peak year is the year Daryl 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.
Daryl births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year by count was 1956. Measured as a share of all babies, Daryl peaked in 1970.
- Fastest rise: Between 1935 and 1940, Daryl became 2.2× more common, from 1 in 7,770 baby boys to 1 in 3,480.
- Steepest fall: Between 1970 and 1975, its share of baby boys fell by 44%, from 1 in 1,040 to 1 in 1,860.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Daryl's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Daryl.
Decade by decade
Babies named Daryl 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 | 46 | 566 | – |
| 1930s | 237 | 1,842 | #495 |
| 1940s | 805 | 5,290 | #302 |
| 1950s | 1,317 | 14,506 | #178 |
| 1960s | 646 | 15,268 | #179 |
| 1970s | 256 | 11,014 | #247 |
| 1980s | 435 | 6,840 | #287 |
| 1990s | 460 | 3,519 | #583 |
| 2000s | 121 | 1,776 | #947 |
| 2010s | 46 | 1,198 | #1,160 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 532 | #1,529 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
41.8% of babies named Daryl from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Daryl is most popular
The index compares Daryl'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 Daryl.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 2.74× | 536 |
| North Dakota | 2.59× | 502 |
| Iowa | 2.17× | 1,692 |
| District of Columbia | 1.85× | 524 |
| Kansas | 1.83× | 1,143 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Daryl 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Daryl (this page) | 62,351 | 1970 |
| Darryl | 92,205 | 1965 |
| Darel | 2,058 | 1940 |
| 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 Daryl's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Daryl.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Daryl (1970).
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