Darlyn
A feminine name, possibly a combination of Darlene and Lynn.
Name Census estimates that about 1,721 living Americans carry the first name Darlyn. It is a predominantly female name (98.4% of registrations). The average person named Darlyn today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darlyn births was 2006 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darlyn. 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
1.7K
~ 1 in 199,160 Americans
Peak year
2006
61 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2020 SSA rank
#4,205
Tracked since 1926
Census
Darlyn in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,150 people with the first name Darlyn, which placed it at #7,169 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
#7,169
National first-name rank
People counted
2.1K
2,150 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
58.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darlyn
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darlyn is Hispanic at 58.9%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Darlyn 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 Darlyn at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino58.9% · 1,266
- White26.5% · 570
- Black or African American6.2% · 134
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 118
- Two or more races1.8% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 24
Gender
Gender distribution for Darlyn
Darlyn leans heavily female at 98.4% of total registrations, but 33 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Darlyn as a male name
- Ranked #9,796 in 2020
- 7 male births in 2020
- Peak: 2006 (9 births)
Darlyn as a female name
- Ranked #4,205 in 2024
- 34 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (61 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darlyn leans strongly female. 1,880 people counted with this name were female (87.4%), compared with 272 male bearers (12.6%).
Popularity
Darlyn: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darlyn from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 389 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Darlyn remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darlyn 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 Darlyn during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darlyns live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Darlyn, while Florida, Virginia, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 71 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darlyn
The name Darlyn is of uncertain origin, with no clear consensus among name scholars and etymologists. It is believed to be a modern invention, possibly derived from a combination of existing names or words, rather than having a direct lineage from a specific language or culture.
Some experts suggest that Darlyn may be a blend of the names Darlene and Lyn, both of which have English origins. Darlene is a feminine name that emerged in the early 20th century, possibly derived from the French name Arlene or the English name Darling. Lyn, on the other hand, is a shortened form of names like Lynette or Lyndsey, which have roots in Old English and Old German.
While the name Darlyn does not appear to have any direct historical references or mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its potential components, such as Darlene and Lyn, have been documented throughout history.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Darlyn are relatively modern, with the first known bearers likely emerging in the mid-to-late 20th century. However, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this name throughout history.
One of the earliest known individuals named Darlyn was Darlyn Finch Kuhn (born 1932), an American author and academic who wrote extensively on the history of science and technology. Another notable bearer was Darlyn Boudreau (1951-2017), a Canadian singer and songwriter who performed in both French and English.
In the world of sports, Darlyn Vlysinger (born 1964) is a former American professional basketball player who competed in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Darlyn Gee (born 1968) is an Australian actress and television presenter, best known for her roles in various Australian soap operas and crime dramas.
More recently, Darlyn Daniels (born 1986) is an American singer and songwriter who has released several albums in the genres of R&B and soul music.
While the name Darlyn may be a relatively modern invention, its potential components and the individuals who have borne this name have contributed to its unique history and legacy.
People
Darlyn + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darlyn 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
Darlyn: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darlyn?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,721 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darlyn 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 199,160 US residents.
Is Darlyn a common name?
We classify Darlyn as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,065 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darlyn most popular?
The single biggest year for Darlyn was 2006, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darlyn is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darlyn in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,150 people with the name Darlyn, or 0.71 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,169 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 Darlyn 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 Darlyn?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darlyn leans strongly female. 1,880 people counted with this name were female (87.4%), compared with 272 male bearers (12.6%). 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 Darlyn?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darlyn is Hispanic at 58.9%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Black (6.2%). 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 Darlyn most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Darlyn in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.9% (1,266 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 Darlyn in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darlyn a female name?
Yes, 98.4% of people registered as Darlyn 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 Darlyn still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darlyn 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 Darlyn 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 Darlyn as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.