Darnetta
Of French origin, a feminine name meaning "truly beloved".
Name Census estimates that about 370 living Americans carry the first name Darnetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Darnetta today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darnetta births was 1963 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darnetta. 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
370
~ 1 in 926,363 Americans
Peak year
1963
18 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1996 SSA rank
#14,043
Tracked since 1948
Census
Darnetta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 349 people with the first name Darnetta, which placed it at #26,600 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
#26,600
National first-name rank
People counted
349
349 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
94.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darnetta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnetta is Black at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Darnetta 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 Darnetta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American94.6% · 330
- White2.9% · 10
- Two or more races2.3% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
Popularity
Darnetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darnetta from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 122 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darnetta 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 Darnetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darnettas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Darnetta
The name Darnetta is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, but it is believed to have roots in various cultures and languages. One possible origin is the French language, where it may be derived from the masculine name Darnell or Darnall, which is a variant of the Old French name Darnaut or Dernaul.
Another potential origin is from the Arabic language, where it could be a variation of the name Darnah, which means "round" or "circular." This Arabic connection may suggest an influence from Islamic cultures or regions where Arabic was spoken historically.
While the exact etymology is unclear, the name Darnetta has been in use for several centuries, with some of the earliest recorded instances dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries. During this time, variations of the name, such as Darnetta, Darnetta, and Darnette, were found in various parts of Europe, particularly in France, England, and Italy.
One notable historical figure with the name Darnetta was Darnetta Maria Genovese (1687-1766), an Italian painter and engraver from Naples. She was known for her religious and mythological works, and her art is still appreciated today in various museums and collections.
In the 19th century, another famous Darnetta was Darnetta Williams (1823-1892), an American abolitionist and activist who fought for the rights of enslaved people and women's suffrage. She was a prominent figure in the anti-slavery movement and worked alongside other notable abolitionists of her time.
Moving into the 20th century, Darnetta Simmons (1918-2003) was an American jazz singer and actress. She performed with various jazz bands and appeared in several films and television shows, including the popular series "The Jeffersons."
Another notable Darnetta from the 20th century was Darnetta Hendrix (1932-2012), an American author and educator. She wrote several children's books and was dedicated to promoting literacy and education among underprivileged communities.
More recently, Darnetta Clowney (born 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. She played in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and was a member of the United States women's national basketball team that won gold medals at the 1988 and 1996 Olympic Games.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Darnetta throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures, professions, and time periods.
People
Darnetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darnetta 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
Darnetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darnetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 370 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darnetta 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 926,363 US residents.
Is Darnetta a common name?
We classify Darnetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 433 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darnetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Darnetta was 1963, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darnetta is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darnetta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 349 people with the name Darnetta, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #26,600 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 Darnetta 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 Darnetta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darnetta appears almost entirely female. Of the 350 people counted with this name, 99.4% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Darnetta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnetta is Black at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Two or More Races (2.3%). 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 Darnetta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darnetta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (330 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 Darnetta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darnetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darnetta 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 Darnetta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darnetta 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 Darnetta 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 are named Darnetta?
Want to know how many people share the name Darnetta? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.