Darly
English origin, perhaps a blend of Darcy and Lee.
Name Census estimates that about 208 living Americans carry the first name Darly. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 52.1% of registrations being female. The average person named Darly today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darly births was 1982 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darly. 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
1982
15 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
1991 SSA rank
#8,468
Tracked since 1965
Gender
Gender distribution for Darly
Darly is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 217 total registrations, 104 (47.9%) were male and 113 (52.1%) were female.
Darly as a male name
- Ranked #8,468 in 1991
- 5 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1982 (9 births)
Darly as a female name
- Ranked #13,848 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2009 (9 births)
Popularity
Darly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darly from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 59 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Darly remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darly 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 Darly 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 Darly
The name Darly is believed to have originated from the English language, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to be a variation of the name Daryl, derived from the Old English words "deor" meaning "beloved" and "leof" meaning "dear."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Darly can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and property values commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Dærlic," referring to a landowner in the county of Essex.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Darly was relatively uncommon, but it gained some prominence in the 16th and 17th centuries. One notable figure was Darly Burroughs (1570-1635), an English merchant and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Americas and the West Indies.
In the 18th century, the name Darly became associated with the family of English engravers and print publishers. The most famous among them was Matthew Darly (1720-1781), who established a successful publishing business in London and produced numerous satirical prints and caricatures.
Another notable figure was Darly Whittingham (1785-1863), a British naval officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a prominent advocate for social reforms and the abolition of slavery.
The 19th century saw the name Darly gain some popularity, particularly in the United States. One prominent individual was Darly Everett (1819-1901), a American politician and lawyer who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts.
In more recent times, the name Darly has remained relatively uncommon, but it has been used by a few public figures, such as Darly Rozen (born 1957), an American singer-songwriter and musician, and Darly Stephenson (born 1978), a Canadian professional wrestler.
While the name Darly has never been among the most popular names in any region, it has a rich history and has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries, from merchants and explorers to politicians, artists, and entertainers.
People
Darly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darly 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
Darly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 208 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darly 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 Darly a common name?
We classify Darly 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, 217 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darly most popular?
The single biggest year for Darly was 1982, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darly is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Darly a female name?
Yes, 52.1% of people registered as Darly 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.