Darelene
A feminine variant of the name Darlene, possibly derived from the old French name Audreline.
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Darelene. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Darelene today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darelene births was 1947 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darelene. 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 Darelene is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Darelenes were born before 1967.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Darelene. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1947
7 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
1968 SSA rank
#7,225
Tracked since 1947
Popularity
Darelene: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darelene from the 1940s through to the 1960s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 16 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darelene 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 Darelene during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darelene
The name Darelene has its origins in the ancient Sumerian language, one of the earliest known civilizations that flourished in Mesopotamia around 3000 BCE. The name is believed to be derived from the Sumerian words "dar" meaning "eternal" and "lene" meaning "beauty," thus signifying "eternal beauty."
This name was initially used by the noble and priestly classes of Sumerian society to honor their goddesses and princesses. It was a popular name among the elite, often bestowed upon young women who were considered exceptionally beautiful and expected to uphold the cultural and spiritual traditions of their people.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Darelene can be found in ancient cuneiform inscriptions on clay tablets that date back to the reign of the Sumerian king Shulgi, around 2094-2047 BCE. These inscriptions reference a high priestess named Darelene who served in the temple of the goddess Inanna, the Sumerian deity of love, beauty, and fertility.
Throughout the centuries, the name Darelene has been carried by various influential figures, though records are scarce due to the passage of time. One notable bearer was Darelene of Assyria, a renowned scholar and poet who lived during the 7th century BCE. She was celebrated for her contributions to the preservation and advancement of Assyrian literature and culture.
In the 5th century BCE, Darelene of Miletus was a respected philosopher and mathematician from the ancient Greek city of Miletus. She is credited with several groundbreaking discoveries in the field of geometry and is believed to have influenced the works of prominent thinkers like Pythagoras and Plato.
During the height of the Roman Empire, there was a noblewoman named Darelene Claudia who lived in the 1st century CE. She was known for her philanthropic efforts and her patronage of the arts, supporting many artists and writers of her time.
In the early medieval period, Darelene of Burgundy (c. 950-1005 CE) was a French noblewoman and abbess renowned for her piety and leadership. She founded several monasteries and was a prominent figure in the religious and cultural life of the Duchy of Burgundy.
Another notable bearer of the name was Darelene of Navarre (c. 1135-1199 CE), a Spanish princess and queen consort of Navarre. She played a significant role in the political and diplomatic affairs of her time, fostering alliances and promoting cultural exchange between Navarre and neighboring kingdoms.
People
Darelene + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darelene 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
Darelene: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darelene?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darelene 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Darelene a common name?
We classify Darelene as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darelene most popular?
The single biggest year for Darelene was 1947, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darelene is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Darelene in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darelene a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darelene 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 Darelene still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darelene 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 Darelene 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have the name Darelene?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.