Daran
A Persian name meaning "possessed of" or "having many possessions".
Name Census estimates that about 551 living Americans carry the first name Daran. It is a predominantly male name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Daran today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Daran births was 1961 (29 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Daran. 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.
People living today
551
~ 1 in 622,059 Americans
Peak year
1961
29 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2018 SSA rank
#6,757
Tracked since 1955
Census
Daran in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 613 people with the first name Daran, which placed it at #17,806 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
#17,806
National first-name rank
People counted
613
613 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
55.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Daran
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daran is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Daran 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 Daran at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White55.0% · 337
- Black or African American27.1% · 166
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 40
- Two or more races3.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Daran
Daran leans heavily male at 98.3% of total registrations, but 10 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Daran as a male name
- Ranked #12,586 in 2018
- 5 male births in 2018
- Peak: 1965 (26 births)
Daran as a female name
- Ranked #6,757 in 1961
- 5 female births in 1961
- Peak: 1959 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daran leans strongly male. 576 people counted with this name were male (94.1%), compared with 36 female bearers (5.9%).
Popularity
Daran: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Daran from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 187 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
Daran 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 Daran during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Daran
The name Daran is believed to have its origins in the Persian language, with roots tracing back to ancient Persia, now modern-day Iran. It is derived from the Persian word "dara," which means "holder" or "possessor." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who were seen as possessing valuable qualities or resources.
In the Persian culture, names often carried deep symbolic meanings, and Daran was no exception. It was a name associated with strength, resilience, and leadership. During the Achaemenid Empire, which ruled over Persia from 550 BCE to 330 BCE, there are records of individuals bearing the name Daran, though their exact identities and roles remain obscure.
One of the earliest known historical references to the name Daran can be found in the ancient Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th century CE. In this epic, Daran is mentioned as a character, although the details surrounding their significance are scarce.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Daran. One such person was Daran I, a ruler of the ancient Kingdom of Iberia, located in what is now modern-day Georgia. He reigned in the 6th century CE and was known for his efforts in promoting Christianity within his kingdom.
Another individual of note was Daran al-Kabir, a Persian scholar and philosopher who lived during the 9th century CE. He was renowned for his contributions to the fields of astronomy and mathematics and is credited with the development of several astronomical instruments and theories.
In the 14th century, there was Daran Shikoh, a Mughal prince and the eldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan. Daran Shikoh was known for his intellectual pursuits and his interest in various religious philosophies, including Sufism and Hinduism. He was also a patron of the arts and literature.
Moving forward in time, Daran Ismail Khan was a prominent Afghan military leader and governor who lived in the late 18th century. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the Durrani Empire and is remembered for his military campaigns and administrative reforms.
Lastly, Daran Othman was a 20th-century Malaysian politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1976 to 1984. He was instrumental in shaping Malaysia's foreign policy during a crucial period in its history.
While the name Daran may not be as common today as it once was, its rich historical heritage and symbolic connotations continue to make it a noteworthy name, carrying echoes of ancient Persian culture and the legacies of those who bore it throughout the centuries.
People
Daran + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Daran 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
Daran: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Daran?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 551 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Daran 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 622,059 US residents.
Is Daran a common name?
We classify Daran as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 600 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Daran most popular?
The single biggest year for Daran was 1961, when 29 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Daran is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Daran in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 613 people with the name Daran, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,806 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 Daran 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 Daran?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Daran leans strongly male. 576 people counted with this name were male (94.1%), compared with 36 female bearers (5.9%). 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 Daran?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Daran is White at 55.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). 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 Daran most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Daran in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.0% (337 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 Daran in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Daran a male name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Daran 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 Daran still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Daran 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 Daran 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 the name Daran?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.