Darr
A masculine name derived from the Persian word dar meaning "possession" or "holder".
Name Census estimates that about 43 living Americans carry the first name Darr. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Darr today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darr births was 1952 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darr. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Darr. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
43
~ 1 in 7,971,031 Americans
Peak year
1952
8 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1990 SSA rank
#8,393
Tracked since 1952
Census
Darr in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 159 people with the first name Darr, which placed it at #43,953 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
#43,953
National first-name rank
People counted
159
159 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darr
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darr is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Darr 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 Darr at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.1% · 129
- Black or African American10.1% · 16
- Two or more races3.8% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 4
Popularity
Darr: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darr 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 24 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
Darr 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 Darr 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 Darr
The name Darr is believed to have originated from the Persian language, with its roots tracing back to the ancient Iranian civilization. It is derived from the Persian word "darr," which means "possessing" or "holding." This name gained prominence during the medieval Islamic era, particularly in regions influenced by Persian culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Darr can be found in the famous Persian epic poem, the Shahnameh, written by the renowned poet Ferdowsi in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. In this literary masterpiece, Darr appears as the name of a minor character, suggesting its usage during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals bore the name Darr. One such figure was Darr al-Din Zangui, a 12th-century Seljuq ruler who played a significant role in the Crusades. He was born in 1085 and died in 1146, and his reign was marked by his military prowess and strategic alliances.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Darr al-Din al-Qazwini, a 13th-century Persian scholar and geographer. Born in 1203 and died in 1283, he was known for his contributions to the study of geography and his detailed descriptions of various regions and cultures.
In the realm of literature, Darr al-Din Samarqandi was a renowned Persian poet and mystic who lived in the 15th century. His poetic works, which explored themes of love and spirituality, have been widely celebrated and have had a lasting influence on Persian literature.
During the Mughal era in India, the name Darr also found its way into the royal circles. One notable figure was Darr Shukoh, the eldest son of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, who was born in 1615 and died in 1659. Darr Shukoh was known for his intellectual pursuits, particularly his interest in Sufism and his efforts to reconcile Islamic and Hindu philosophies.
It is worth noting that while the name Darr has its origins in the Persian language, it has been adopted and used in various cultures and regions throughout history, reflecting the cultural exchange and interactions among different civilizations.
People
Darr + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darr 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
Darr: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darr?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 43 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darr 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 7,971,031 US residents.
Is Darr a common name?
We classify Darr as "Very Rare". It ranks above 52.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darr most popular?
The single biggest year for Darr was 1952, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darr is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darr in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 159 people with the name Darr, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,953 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 Darr 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 Darr?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Darr leans strongly male. 138 people counted with this name were male (80.7%), compared with 33 female bearers (19.3%). 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 Darr?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darr is White at 81.1%. The next largest groups are Black (10.1%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Darr most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Darr in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.1% (129 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 Darr in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darr a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Darr in the SSA data are male. 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 Darr still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darr 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 Darr 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 Darr as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Darr on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.