Darnell Boy
How popular is Darnell?
#2,421 boy name in 2025
56 baby boys were named Darnell in the US in 2025, making it the 2421st most popular boy name.
Darnell popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #2,421 for boys (▼ 160 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 56 boys |
| 10-year trend | Falling fast (-63% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #1,223 in 2015, #1,621 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1984 (741 boys) |
| Highest rank | #281 in 1984 |
| First recorded | 1912 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 100% boys, 0% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.0% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Darnell counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Darnell family of names ranked #1,892 for boys in 2025 (#1,878 the year before), with 61 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Darnell | 56 | 92% |
| Darnelle | 5 | 8% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Darnell is most popular
Babies named Darnell per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Michigan: 0.2 per 1,000 (34 boys)
- Ohio: 0.1 per 1,000 (21 boys)
- Pennsylvania: 0.1 per 1,000 (17 boys)
- New Jersey: 0.1 per 1,000 (11 boys)
- Florida: 0.0 per 1,000 (18 boys)
Darnell by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 63 | #1,745 |
| 1920s | 197 | #1,355 |
| 1930s | 294 | #976 |
| 1940s | 633 | #627 |
| 1950s | 2,969 | #394 |
| 1960s | 3,689 | #374 |
| 1970s | 4,828 | #314 |
| 1980s | 6,294 | #281 |
| 1990s | 4,514 | #354 |
| 2000s | 2,878 | #656 |
| 2010s | 1,772 | #877 |
| 2020s | 500 | #1,621 |
Boy names about as popular as Darnell
Questions
- Is Darnell a boy or girl name?
- Darnell is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 100% of babies named Darnell were boys.
- How popular is the name Darnell?
- 56 baby boys were named Darnell in the US in 2025, making it the 2421st most popular boy name.
- When was Darnell most popular?
- Darnell peaked in 1984, when 741 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #281 in 1984.
- How many people are named Darnell?
- 31,018 babies have been named Darnell in the US since 1880. We estimate about 27,220 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 43.
- Where is Darnell most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Darnell was most common in Michigan, at 0.2 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.