Darleny
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a blend of Darla and Lenny.
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Darleny. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Darleny today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darleny births was 2020 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darleny. 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
208
~ 1 in 1,647,857 Americans
Peak year
2020
15 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,677
Tracked since 1993
Popularity
Darleny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darleny from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 71 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Darleny remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darleny 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 Darleny 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 Darleny
The name Darleny is a modern variation of the traditional English name Darleen, which itself is a combination of the Old English words "deor" meaning "dear" or "beloved," and "lene" meaning "tender" or "delicate." This name likely emerged in the 12th or 13th century during the Middle English period, when many new names were created by combining existing words or modifying existing names.
While the name Darleny does not have a long documented history, it is likely that early instances of this spelling variation arose in the 19th or early 20th century as a creative adaptation of the more common Darleen. It is possible that the variant spelling was influenced by the French language or other Romance languages, where the letter "y" is more commonly used in place of certain vowel sounds.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Darleny was Darleny Yencey, an American author and historian born in 1912 in Kentucky. She wrote several books on the history and culture of Appalachia, including "Appalachian Traditions and Stories" (1941) and "The Ballad Makers of Appalachia" (1948).
Another notable figure was Darleny Saunders, a British artist and sculptor born in 1924 in London. She is best known for her abstract metal sculptures, which were exhibited in galleries across Europe and the United States throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
In the field of politics, Darleny Hernandez was a Colombian activist and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Representatives from 2006 to 2010. She was a vocal advocate for women's rights and social justice issues.
Darleny Quintero, born in 1972 in Venezuela, was a professional tennis player who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 28 in the world in 1998. She won two singles titles and six doubles titles on the WTA Tour.
Lastly, Darleny Vasquez was a notable Honduran singer and songwriter active in the late 20th century. She was known for her powerful vocals and her contributions to the Latin pop and rock genres.
While the name Darleny is not among the most common given names, it has been used by individuals from various backgrounds and professions throughout the past century. Its origins can be traced back to the Middle English period, but its precise evolution and adoption as a variant spelling remains an intriguing piece of onomastic history.
People
Darleny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darleny 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
Darleny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darleny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darleny 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 1,647,857 US residents.
Is Darleny a common name?
We classify Darleny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 210 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darleny most popular?
The single biggest year for Darleny was 2020, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darleny is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Darleny a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darleny 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.