How Many People Are Named Darnell?
An estimated 27,443 people in the United States have the first name Darnell. It is predominantly male (92.3%). The average bearer is 44 years old, and Darnell peaked in popularity in 1984 with 770 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Darnell as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Darnell paired with any surname.
Estimated Living Americans
27,443
About 1 in 12,490 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
92.3% confidence
Average Age
44
years old
Peak Year
1984
770 births
Total Registered
30,961
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Darnell
Darnell is predominantly male (92.3%), though 2,387 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
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)
Darnell: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Darnell span from the 1910s to the 2020s, covering 12 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1980s, when 6,501 babies were registered. Darnell has declined significantly from its peak in the 1980s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Darnell by Decade
How has Darnell tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Darnell by State
Birth registrations for Darnell span all 39 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Illinois, New York, California. The lowest are in Rhode Island, Iowa, West Virginia. On average, about 652 Darnells were registered per state.
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.
Names Similar to Darnell
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Darnell: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darnell?
We estimate approximately 27,443 people named Darnell are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 12,490 Americans share this first name.
Is Darnell a common name?
Darnell is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.7% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 30,961 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Darnell most popular?
Darnell reached peak popularity in 1984, when 770 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Darnell is approximately 44 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Darnell a male name?
Darnell is predominantly male. 92.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Darnell Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Darnell Smith, Darnell Johnson, Darnell Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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