Darcel
A feminine name derived from the French word meaning "bundle of laths".
Name Census estimates that about 1,115 living Americans carry the first name Darcel. It is a predominantly female name (90.4% of registrations). The average person named Darcel today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darcel births was 1954 (71 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darcel. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 307,403 Americans
Peak year
1954
71 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2013 SSA rank
#12,561
Tracked since 1950
Census
Darcel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,185 people with the first name Darcel, which placed it at #10,994 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,994
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,185 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
59.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darcel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darcel is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Darcel described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Darcel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American59.3% · 703
- White30.0% · 356
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 56
- Two or more races3.9% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Darcel
Darcel leans heavily female at 90.4% of total registrations, but 131 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Darcel as a male name
- Ranked #12,561 in 2013
- 5 male births in 2013
- Peak: 1990 (10 births)
Darcel as a female name
- Ranked #14,038 in 1996
- 5 female births in 1996
- Peak: 1954 (71 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darcel leans strongly female. 1,031 people counted with this name were female (87.2%), compared with 151 male bearers (12.8%).
Popularity
Darcel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darcel from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 545 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darcel by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Darcel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darcels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, California recorded the most babies named Darcel, while North Carolina, Maryland, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 35 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darcel
The given name Darcel is of uncertain origin, with various theories proposed regarding its roots. One plausible theory suggests that it may have originated from the Latin name Darcellus, a diminutive form of the name Darcius, which itself is derived from the ancient Roman family name Dardanus.
Another possibility is that Darcel has its origins in the Old French word "darcelle," which translates to "teal," a type of small freshwater duck. This could indicate that the name may have initially been used as a nickname or descriptive term, perhaps referring to someone with a connection to these birds or their characteristics.
While the exact origins remain obscure, the earliest recorded instances of the name Darcel can be traced back to the late 19th century in parts of Europe, particularly France and Germany. However, it is worth noting that the name was relatively uncommon during this time period.
One of the earliest known individuals to bear the name Darcel was a French painter named Darcel de Monfreid, who lived from 1856 to 1929. He was known for his landscapes and cityscapes, particularly those depicting scenes from his native Normandy region.
Another notable figure was Darcel Aran, a French-American fashion designer who was active in the mid-20th century. She was born in 1920 and gained recognition for her innovative use of materials and her contributions to the development of sportswear fashion.
In the realm of literature, Darcel Garibeau was a Canadian poet and novelist who lived from 1927 to 2009. Her works explored themes of identity, culture, and the experiences of women, and she was widely acclaimed for her poetic style and imagery.
Moving to the world of sports, Darcel D. Walker was an American professional basketball player who played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) during the late 1990s and early 2000s. She was born in 1975 and played for teams such as the Charlotte Sting and the Detroit Shock.
Lastly, Darcel Danette Yancy was an American singer and songwriter who was active in the 1980s and 1990s. Born in 1963, she gained recognition for her work in the R&B and soul genres, collaborating with various artists and releasing several albums.
While not an exhaustive list, these examples showcase the diverse backgrounds and fields in which individuals named Darcel have made their mark throughout history, reflecting the unique and intriguing nature of this given name.
People
Darcel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darcel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Darcel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darcel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,115 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darcel going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 307,403 US residents.
Is Darcel a common name?
We classify Darcel as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,371 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darcel most popular?
The single biggest year for Darcel was 1954, when 71 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darcel is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darcel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,185 people with the name Darcel, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,994 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Darcel in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Darcel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darcel leans strongly female. 1,031 people counted with this name were female (87.2%), compared with 151 male bearers (12.8%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Darcel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darcel is Black at 59.3%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Darcel most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darcel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.3% (703 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Darcel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darcel a female name?
Yes, 90.4% of people registered as Darcel in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Darcel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darcel in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Darcel can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Darcel?
See how many people share the name Darcel on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.