Darrion
Darrion, a masculine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Dario (from the Persian name Dara, meaning "wealthy" or "holding firmness").
Name Census estimates that about 4,425 living Americans carry the first name Darrion. It is a predominantly male name (96.7% of registrations). The average person named Darrion today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darrion births was 1995 (244 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darrion. 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 Darrion with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Darrion is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 149 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
4.4K
~ 1 in 77,459 Americans
Peak year
1995
244 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,704
Tracked since 1961
Census
Darrion in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,255 people with the first name Darrion, which placed it at #5,314 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
#5,314
National first-name rank
People counted
3.3K
3,255 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
73.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darrion
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrion is Black at 73.1%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Darrion 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 Darrion at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.1% · 2,380
- White11.2% · 364
- Two or more races7.4% · 241
- Hispanic or Latino6.1% · 198
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 41
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Darrion
Darrion leans heavily male at 96.7% of total registrations, but 149 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Darrion as a male name
- Ranked #3,704 in 2024
- 30 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (220 births)
Darrion as a female name
- Ranked #17,670 in 2010
- 5 female births in 2010
- Peak: 1995 (30 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darrion leans strongly male. 3,101 people counted with this name were male (95.3%), compared with 154 female bearers (4.7%).
Popularity
Darrion: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darrion from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,659 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darrion 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 Darrion during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darrions live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Darrion, while South Carolina, Arizona, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 109 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darrion
The given name Darrion is a relatively modern variation of the traditional English name Darren, which in turn is a derivative of the ancient Celtic name Dáire. The name Dáire originated in Ireland and Scotland, and it is believed to have derived from the Old Irish word "dair," meaning "oak tree."
In its original form, Dáire was a popular name among the ancient Celts, who revered oak trees as sacred symbols of strength and longevity. The name likely held spiritual and cultural significance for those who bore it, representing a connection to nature and the enduring qualities associated with the mighty oak.
The transition from Dáire to the modern spelling Darren occurred during the Middle Ages, as the name spread throughout the British Isles and evolved over time. While the earliest recorded instances of the name Darrion are relatively recent, it is thought to have emerged as a unique spelling variation in the 20th century.
One of the earliest notable individuals to bear the name Darrion was Darrion Caldwell, an American mixed martial artist born in 1987. Caldwell gained recognition for his successful career in various MMA promotions, including the UFC and Bellator.
Another individual of note is Darrion Pollard, an American football player born in 1988. Pollard played as a defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for several teams, including the San Francisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions.
In the world of music, Darrion Jones, a contemporary American singer-songwriter and record producer, has made a name for himself. Jones, born in 1987, has worked with several prominent artists and has gained recognition for his unique blend of genres.
Historically, the name Darrion has also been associated with figures in literature and academia. One such individual is Darrion Catchings, an American author and educator born in 1964. Catchings has written several books exploring themes of race, culture, and social justice.
Finally, Darrion Pollard, a professional basketball player from the United States, born in 1993, has achieved success in his career. Pollard played college basketball at the University of Cincinnati and later pursued a professional career in various international leagues.
While the name Darrion may not have an extensive recorded history, its roots can be traced back to the ancient Celtic culture, where it originated as a symbol of strength and endurance. Over time, it has evolved into a distinct and unique variation, carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions.
People
Darrion + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darrion 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
Darrion: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darrion?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,425 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darrion 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 77,459 US residents.
Is Darrion a common name?
We classify Darrion as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,526 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darrion most popular?
The single biggest year for Darrion was 1995, when 244 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darrion is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darrion in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,255 people with the name Darrion, or 1.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,314 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 Darrion 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 Darrion?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darrion leans strongly male. 3,101 people counted with this name were male (95.3%), compared with 154 female bearers (4.7%). 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 Darrion?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrion is Black at 73.1%. The next largest groups are White (11.2%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Darrion most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darrion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.1% (2,380 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 Darrion in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darrion a male name?
Yes, 96.7% of people registered as Darrion 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 Darrion still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darrion 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 Darrion 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 Americans are named Darrion?
Want to know how many Americans are named Darrion? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.