Darrin
From the Old English name Deryn, meaning little deer.
Name Census estimates that about 27,122 living Americans carry the first name Darrin. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Darrin today is around 49 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darrin births was 1965 (3,273 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darrin. 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 Darrin with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Darrin is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 132 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1960s, recent registration numbers for Darrin have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
27K
~ 1 in 12,638 Americans
Peak year
1965
3,273 babies that year
Average age
49
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,394
Tracked since 1947
Census
Darrin in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 23,566 people with the first name Darrin, which placed it at #1,436 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
#1,436
National first-name rank
People counted
24K
23,566 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
71.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darrin
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrin is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Darrin 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 Darrin at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.2% · 16,777
- Black or African American19.9% · 4,700
- Two or more races3.4% · 799
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 675
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 321
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 294
Gender
Gender distribution for Darrin
Out of the 29,713 babies given the name Darrin since 1880, 99.6% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Darrin as a male name
- Ranked #3,394 in 2024
- 34 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1965 (3,255 births)
Darrin as a female name
- Ranked #13,953 in 1995
- 5 female births in 1995
- Peak: 1965 (18 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darrin appears almost entirely male. Of the 23,564 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Darrin: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darrin from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 13,687 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darrin 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 Darrin during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darrins live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, New York, Illinois recorded the most babies named Darrin, while Alaska, Rhode Island, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 524 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darrin
The name Darrin is an English variant of the Irish name Dáire, which means "fertile" or "fruitful". It originated from the Gaelic word "dair", meaning "oak tree". The name has its roots in ancient Celtic culture, where oak trees were revered as symbols of strength, endurance, and fertility.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Dáire" or "Daire" in ancient Irish texts and historical records. It was a popular name among the Celts, particularly in Ireland, where it was associated with druids and their reverence for nature.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history. It mentions a king named Dáire Dornmhor, who ruled over parts of Ulster in the 6th century.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Darrin or its variants. One of the most famous was Dáire mac Dáire Cerbba (fl. 507-546), an Irish saint and abbot who founded the monastery of Disert-Daire (now Castledermot) in County Kildare, Ireland.
Another prominent figure was Dáire Dornmhor (fl. 507-565), a semi-legendary Irish king who ruled over parts of Ulster and Connacht in the 6th century. He is mentioned in several medieval Irish tales, including the Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley).
In more recent times, the name Darrin gained popularity in the English-speaking world, particularly in the United States. One notable bearer was Darrin McGavin (1922-2006), an American actor best known for his role as Carl Kolchak in the television series "Kolchak: The Night Stalker".
Another famous Darrin was Darrin Stephens, the fictional character portrayed by Dick York and later Dick Sargent in the popular 1960s sitcom "Bewitched". The character's name was a nod to the Irish origins of the name.
In literature, Darrin is the name of a character in the novel "The Corrections" by Jonathan Franzen, published in 2001. The character, Darrin Franzen, is a successful businessman and the son of the main protagonist, Alfred Franzen.
While the name Darrin has roots in ancient Celtic culture, it has evolved and gained popularity across various regions and cultures, particularly in the English-speaking world. Its connection to nature, fertility, and strength has endured throughout its long history, making it a name with rich cultural significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Darrin
People
Darrin + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darrin 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
Darrin: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darrin?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 27,122 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darrin 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 12,638 US residents.
Is Darrin a common name?
We classify Darrin 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, 29,713 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darrin most popular?
The single biggest year for Darrin was 1965, when 3,273 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darrin is about 49 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darrin in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 23,566 people with the name Darrin, or 7.80 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,436 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 Darrin 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 Darrin?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darrin appears almost entirely male. Of the 23,564 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Darrin?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrin is White at 71.2%. The next largest groups are Black (19.9%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Darrin most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Darrin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.2% (16,777 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 Darrin in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darrin a male name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Darrin 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 Darrin still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darrin 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 Darrin 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 have Darrin as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.