Darrian
An invented name of uncertain meaning, possibly derived from an English surname.
Name Census estimates that about 4,293 living Americans carry the first name Darrian. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 78.0% of registrations being male. The average person named Darrian today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Darrian births was 1994 (340 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Darrian. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Darrian with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.3K
~ 1 in 79,840 Americans
Peak year
1994
340 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,905
Tracked since 1960
Census
Darrian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,538 people with the first name Darrian, which placed it at #5,007 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
#5,007
National first-name rank
People counted
3.5K
3,538 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
49.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Darrian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrian is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.0%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Darrian 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 Darrian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American49.0% · 1,734
- White28.0% · 991
- Two or more races10.4% · 367
- Hispanic or Latino9.8% · 346
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 49
Gender
Gender distribution for Darrian
Darrian is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 4,407 total registrations, 3,436 (78.0%) were male and 971 (22.0%) were female.
Darrian as a male name
- Ranked #4,905 in 2024
- 20 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (190 births)
Darrian as a female name
- Ranked #13,339 in 2015
- 7 female births in 2015
- Peak: 1994 (150 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Darrian on both sides of the split. Of the 3,537 people counted with this name, 2,662 were male (75.3%) and 875 were female (24.7%).
Popularity
Darrian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Darrian from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 2,081 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Darrian 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 Darrian during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Darrians live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. Texas, California, Florida recorded the most babies named Darrian, while Wisconsin, Nevada, Minnesota recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 62 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Darrian
The name Darrian is of English origin, with its roots traced back to the late 16th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French name "Derrien," which itself stemmed from the Celtic word "daru," meaning "oak tree." This connection to the mighty oak tree suggests a sense of strength, endurance, and resilience associated with the name.
Throughout history, the name Darrian has been found in various forms of spelling, including Derrian, Darrien, and Daryan. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Andover, England, where a Darrian Smythe was baptized in 1598.
In the realm of literature, the name Darrian has made a notable appearance in the works of the renowned English playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "As You Like It," written around 1599, one of the characters mentions a "Darrian" in a conversation, providing evidence of the name's usage during that era.
Among the historical figures who bore the name Darrian, one notable individual was Darrian Collyer (1667-1734), an English architect and surveyor who contributed to the rebuilding efforts in London following the Great Fire of 1666. His work included the design and construction of several churches and public buildings, leaving a lasting impact on the city's architectural landscape.
Another prominent Darrian was Darrian Cartwright (1712-1776), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the 18th century. He played a significant role in several battles and naval campaigns, including the Seven Years' War, and was recognized for his bravery and leadership.
In the field of science, Darrian Hawkins (1802-1879) stood out as a pioneering geologist and paleontologist. He made significant contributions to the understanding of fossil records and the Earth's geological history, publishing numerous papers and works that advanced the field of paleontology.
Moving into the realm of arts and literature, Darrian Wharton (1856-1924) was a celebrated English poet and novelist whose works explored themes of nature, love, and the human condition. His poetic collections, such as "Sonnets of the Seasons" and "Odes to Nature," garnered critical acclaim and influenced subsequent generations of writers.
Finally, in the 20th century, Darrian Marsden (1914-1998) made a significant impact as a civil rights activist and advocate for social justice. Born in the United States, he dedicated his life to fighting against racial discrimination and promoting equal rights for all, becoming a prominent figure in the American Civil Rights Movement.
People
Darrian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Darrian 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
Darrian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Darrian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,293 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Darrian 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 79,840 US residents.
Is Darrian a common name?
We classify Darrian as "Rare". It ranks above 96.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,407 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Darrian most popular?
The single biggest year for Darrian was 1994, when 340 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Darrian is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Darrian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,538 people with the name Darrian, or 1.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,007 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 Darrian 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 Darrian?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Darrian on both sides of the split. Of the 3,537 people counted with this name, 2,662 were male (75.3%) and 875 were female (24.7%). 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 Darrian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Darrian is Black at 49.0%. The next largest groups are White (28.0%) and Two or More Races (10.4%). 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 Darrian most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Darrian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.0% (1,734 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 Darrian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Darrian a male name?
Yes, 78.0% of people registered as Darrian 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 Darrian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Darrian 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 Darrian 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 Americans are named Darrian?
Want to know how many Americans are named Darrian? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.