NameCensus.
Very Rare

Darcell

A feminine variant of the French name Darcy, meaning "dark or brown complexion".

Name Census estimates that about 586 living Americans carry the first name Darcell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 74.9% of registrations being female. The average person named Darcell today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darcell births was 1984 (39 babies).

This page is the full Name Census profile for Darcell. 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

586

~ 1 in 584,905 Americans

Peak year

1984

39 babies that year

Average age

50

years old

2017 SSA rank

#10,479

Tracked since 1951

Gender

Gender distribution for Darcell

Darcell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 676 total registrations, 170 (25.1%) were male and 506 (74.9%) were female.

25% male
75% female
Male170 (25.1%)Female506 (74.9%)

Darcell as a male name

  • Ranked #12,702 in 2017
  • 5 male births in 2017
  • Peak: 1991 (14 births)

Darcell as a female name

  • Ranked #10,479 in 1990
  • 7 female births in 1990
  • Peak: 1984 (32 births)

Popularity

Darcell: popularity over time

The SSA tracks Darcell from the 1950s through to the 2010s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 204 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.

Babies born per year

MaleFemale
010202939196019701980199020002010

Decades

Darcell 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 Darcell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.

DecadeMaleFemaleTotal
1950s0149149
1960s0138138
1970s2378101
1980s70134204
1990s58765
2000s14014
2010s505

Geography

Where Darcells live

The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. New York, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Darcell, while Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.

Origin

Meaning and history of Darcell

The name Darcell has its origins in the Old French language, derived from the words "d'Arcel," meaning "from Arcel." This name likely originated in the region of Arcel, a small village located in the northern part of France, during the Middle Ages.

In the early medieval period, surnames were often derived from the name of a person's place of origin or residence. Darcell may have been a surname that was later adopted as a given name, particularly among families with ties to the village of Arcel or the surrounding areas.

While there are no known historical references or records of the name Darcell appearing in ancient texts or religious scriptures, some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in France.

One of the earliest known individuals with the name Darcell was a French noble named Darcell de Boissy, who lived in the late 13th century and was a prominent figure in the court of King Philip IV of France.

Another notable person with the name Darcell was a French artist and painter named Darcell Dupont, who lived in the 16th century and was known for his intricate portraits and landscapes.

In the 17th century, a French explorer and cartographer named Darcell Levasseur was credited with charting some of the earliest maps of the Mississippi River and the surrounding regions in North America.

During the 18th century, a French playwright and author named Darcell Lacroix gained recognition for his satirical works and social commentaries on the French aristocracy.

In the 19th century, a French botanist named Darcell Émile Fournier made significant contributions to the study of plant taxonomy and was responsible for identifying and classifying numerous species found in the French countryside.

While the name Darcell has its roots in France, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions over the centuries, albeit with varying degrees of popularity.

People

Darcell + last name combinations

How many people share a full name with Darcell 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

Darcell: questions and answers

How many people in the U.S. are named Darcell?

Name Census puts the figure at roughly 586 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darcell 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 584,905 US residents.

Is Darcell a common name?

We classify Darcell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 676 babies have been registered with this name.

When was Darcell most popular?

The single biggest year for Darcell was 1984, when 39 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darcell is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.

Is Darcell a female name?

Yes, 74.9% of people registered as Darcell in the SSA data are female. 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.

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.

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Darcell

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