Darnell
A masculine name of French origin meaning "small valley".
Name Census estimates that about 27,443 living Americans carry the first name Darnell. It is a predominantly male name (92.3% of registrations). The average person named Darnell today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darnell births was 1984 (770 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darnell. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Darnell with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
27K
~ 1 in 12,490 Americans
Peak year
1984
770 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,311
Tracked since 1912
Census
Darnell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 20,322 people with the first name Darnell, which placed it at #1,586 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
#1,586
National first-name rank
People counted
20K
20,322 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
6.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darnell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnell is Black at 82.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Darnell 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 Darnell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.8% · 16,818
- White7.3% · 1,476
- Two or more races4.5% · 924
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 670
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 274
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 160
Gender
Gender distribution for Darnell
Darnell leans heavily male at 92.3% of total registrations, but 2,387 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Darnell as a male name
- Ranked #2,311 in 2024
- 61 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1984 (741 births)
Darnell as a female name
- Ranked #16,476 in 2017
- 5 female births in 2017
- Peak: 1951 (71 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darnell leans strongly male. 18,734 people counted with this name were male (92.2%), compared with 1,585 female bearers (7.8%).
Popularity
Darnell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darnell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6,501 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darnell 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 Darnell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darnells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 39 states and territories. Illinois, New York, California recorded the most babies named Darnell, while Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 652 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darnell
The given name Darnell has its origins in the Old French language, stemming from the word "arne," which means "eagle." It likely emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages, potentially referring to individuals with eagle-like qualities or those who worked with these majestic birds.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Darnell can be traced back to the 12th century in France. It appeared in various historical documents and records from that era, indicating its use as a personal name during that time period.
While the name Darnell does not have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it shares linguistic roots with other names derived from words associated with birds, such as Arnaud and Arnold, which also stem from the Old French "arne."
Among the notable individuals who bore the name Darnell throughout history, we can mention:
1. Darnell Williams (1924-2005), an American actor and singer best known for his roles in numerous Broadway productions and television shows.
2. Darnell Autry (1914-1991), an American actor and stuntman who appeared in several Western films during the 1930s and 1940s.
3. Darnell Rock (born 1980), an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA and various international leagues.
4. Darnell Hillman (1943-2018), an American jazz bassist and composer who performed with numerous renowned musicians throughout his career.
5. Darnell Nurse (born 1995), a Canadian professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Edmonton Oilers in the NHL.
These individuals hailed from diverse backgrounds and professions, yet they all shared the distinctive name Darnell, which has its roots in the Old French language and was likely used to describe individuals with eagle-like qualities or those associated with these magnificent birds.
People
Darnell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darnell 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
Darnell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darnell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27,443 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darnell 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 12,490 US residents.
Is Darnell a common name?
We classify Darnell as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30,961 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darnell most popular?
The single biggest year for Darnell was 1984, when 770 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darnell is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darnell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 20,322 people with the name Darnell, or 6.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,586 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 Darnell 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 Darnell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darnell leans strongly male. 18,734 people counted with this name were male (92.2%), compared with 1,585 female bearers (7.8%). 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 Darnell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnell is Black at 82.8%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Darnell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darnell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.8% (16,818 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 Darnell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darnell a male name?
Yes, 92.3% of people registered as Darnell in the SSA data are male. 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 Darnell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darnell 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 Darnell 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 many people are named Darnell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.