Boy · English or Irish surname (uncertain)
Darren
Say it: DAIR-en
Meaning
A surname of uncertain origin, sometimes linked to Irish Ó Dearáin; its use as a first name is a 20th-century fashion with no agreed meaning.
Uncertainseveral explanations, none settled.
Popularized in the 1950s and 1960s by the actor Darren McGavin and the character Darrin Stephens in the TV series Bewitched.
Its wave through time
A fashion of the 1960s
In the United States
- 103,266 babies given this name since 1936
- At its height in 1965, about 1 in 314 boys
- 338 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Darin, Darrin, Daren
Famous bearers
- Darren McGavin, American actor
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.