Darnice
An Old French feminine name combining the words "dare" and "nice", suggesting boldness and kindness.
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the first name Darnice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Darnice today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darnice births was 1958 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darnice. 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
124
~ 1 in 2,764,148 Americans
Peak year
1958
18 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1992 SSA rank
#9,691
Tracked since 1952
Census
Darnice in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 166 people with the first name Darnice, which placed it at #42,903 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
#42,903
National first-name rank
People counted
166
166 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
84.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darnice
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnice is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Darnice 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 Darnice at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.9% · 141
- White7.8% · 13
- Two or more races3.6% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 2
Popularity
Darnice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darnice from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 81 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darnice 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 Darnice 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 Darnice
The name Darnice is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history that spans several cultures and linguistic roots. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Germanic tribes of Europe, where it was derived from the Old German word "darnan," meaning "to hide" or "to conceal."
In the early medieval period, the name gained popularity among the Frankish and Visigothic peoples, particularly in regions that encompassed modern-day France and Spain. During this era, Darnice was often used as a masculine name, although its precise meaning and connotations varied across different regions and dialects.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Darnice can be found in the ancient Visigothic chronicles, where it was mentioned as the name of a prominent warrior who fought against the invading Moors in the 8th century. Unfortunately, specific details about this individual's life and exploits have been lost to time.
As the name spread across Europe, it underwent various linguistic transformations and adaptations. In some regions, it was associated with concepts of secrecy, mystery, and concealment, reflecting its etymological roots. In others, it took on more positive connotations of protection and guardianship.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Darnice. One of the earliest was Darnice of Aquitaine (circa 920-985), a influential noblewoman and patron of the arts who played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of the region during the High Middle Ages.
Another prominent figure was Darnice the Wise (1140-1212), a renowned scholar and philosopher from the Iberian Peninsula, whose treatises on ethics and metaphysics profoundly influenced the intellectual discourse of the era.
In the 16th century, Darnice Boucicault (1510-1574) was a French explorer and navigator who accompanied Jacques Cartier on his voyages to the New World, and is credited with being among the first Europeans to document the indigenous cultures of what is now eastern Canada.
During the Renaissance period, Darnice Rosetti (1528-1592) was an Italian painter and poet whose works were celebrated for their vibrant colors and masterful use of symbolism, earning her a place among the most renowned artists of the Venetian school.
In more recent times, Darnice Kovačević (1895-1968) was a Serbian writer and activist whose novels and essays shed light on the struggles and resilience of women in the Balkans during the turbulent early 20th century.
While the name Darnice has undergone various transformations and adaptations throughout its long history, it remains a unique and intriguing moniker that carries with it a rich tapestry of cultural and linguistic heritage.
People
Darnice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darnice 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
Darnice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darnice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 124 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darnice 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 2,764,148 US residents.
Is Darnice a common name?
We classify Darnice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 67.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 157 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darnice most popular?
The single biggest year for Darnice was 1958, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darnice is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darnice in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 166 people with the name Darnice, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #42,903 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 Darnice 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 Darnice?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darnice leans strongly female. 158 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Darnice?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darnice is Black at 84.9%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Darnice most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darnice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.9% (141 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 Darnice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darnice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darnice 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 Darnice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darnice 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 Darnice 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 the name Darnice?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.