Darcus
From the French surname, originally denoting someone of dark complexion.
Name Census estimates that about 154 living Americans carry the first name Darcus. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Darcus today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darcus births was 1925 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darcus. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Darcus is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Darcus' were born before 1969.
People living today
154
~ 1 in 2,225,678 Americans
Peak year
1925
11 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1980 SSA rank
#6,449
Tracked since 1884
Census
Darcus in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Darcus, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
53.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darcus
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darcus is Black at 53.1%. The next largest groups are White (39.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Darcus 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 Darcus at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American53.1% · 138
- White39.6% · 103
- Two or more races4.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Darcus
Darcus leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 11 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Darcus as a male name
- Ranked #6,449 in 1980
- 5 male births in 1980
- Peak: 1973 (6 births)
Darcus as a female name
- Ranked #9,580 in 1985
- 6 female births in 1985
- Peak: 1925 (11 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Darcus on both sides of the split. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 52 were male (20.6%) and 201 were female (79.4%).
Popularity
Darcus: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darcus from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darcus 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 Darcus during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darcus' live
Origin
Meaning and history of Darcus
The name Darcus is of English origin, derived from the Old French name D'Arcy, which itself is believed to have originated from the Norman French place name Arcy. The name Arcy is thought to have come from the Latin word "arx," meaning "citadel" or "fortress."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Darcus dates back to the 13th century, when it was found in the Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire, England, in 1273. The name was often spelled as "Darcy" or "D'Arcy" in these early records.
In the 14th century, the name became associated with the prominent D'Arcy family, who were noblemen and landowners in Lincolnshire, England. One notable member of this family was Sir John D'Arcy, who was a military commander and served as the Lord Chamberlain of England during the reign of King Edward III in the mid-14th century.
Another historical figure with the name Darcus was Darcus Howe, an influential British civil rights activist and writer, who was born in 1949. He played a significant role in the Black British community and was known for his activism against racial discrimination and police brutality.
In the literary world, Darcus Beese was an American author and journalist who lived from 1886 to 1938. He is best known for his works exploring the experiences of African Americans in the early 20th century, including the novel "Folks from Dixie."
Darcus Linton, born in 1939, was a British actor and playwright. He was known for his work in television and theatre, particularly for his roles in the BBC series "The Professionals" and the play "Cane," which explored themes of race and identity.
Darcus Holder, born in 1953, is a British entrepreneur and business executive. He has held leadership positions in various companies and is recognized for his contributions to the technology and telecommunications industries.
While the name Darcus is not as common as some other names, it has a rich history and has been carried by notable individuals across different fields, including activism, literature, acting, and business.
People
Darcus + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darcus 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
Darcus: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darcus?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 154 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darcus 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 2,225,678 US residents.
Is Darcus a common name?
We classify Darcus as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 369 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darcus most popular?
The single biggest year for Darcus was 1925, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darcus is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darcus in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Darcus, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Darcus 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 Darcus?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Darcus on both sides of the split. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 52 were male (20.6%) and 201 were female (79.4%). 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 Darcus?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darcus is Black at 53.1%. The next largest groups are White (39.6%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Darcus most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darcus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.1% (138 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 Darcus in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darcus a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Darcus 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.
Is Darcus still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darcus 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 Darcus 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 Darcus?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.