girl's name
Darcey
DAR-see
- Origin Norman
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 6
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 13,092
Scotland
#197
2024 births
Darcey is a girl's name from the Norman surname d'Arcy, meaning from Arcy in Normandy. It ranks 197th in Scotland and 8988th in the United States — one of the widest gaps between markets of any name in the current lists.
- Darcey is a name of Norman origin.
- Peaked in England and Wales in 2015, when 740 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade in England and Wales.
- Today about 1 in 4,022 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- First appears in birth records in 1996.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Darcey over time
Births per decade in England and Wales, 1990s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1990s | 253 |
| 2000s | 2,442 |
| 2010s | 5,751 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 1,418 |
What Darcey means
Darcey means from Arcy. It is a place-based Norman surname rather than a description, so the dark reading often given for it is a later folk explanation.
Where Darcey comes from
Darcey comes from the Norman surname d'Arcy, meaning of Arcy — a place name in Normandy, borne by a family that came to England with the Conquest and held lands in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire. The dark one gloss that circulates comes from confusion with the Irish Ó Dorchaidhe, from dorcha meaning dark, which anglicized to Darcy independently, so the two surnames converged on a spelling much as Miley's did. Its use as a girl's given name is British and recent, and owes a good deal to the ballerina Darcey Bussell, principal at the Royal Ballet from 1989 — the -ey spelling in particular tracks her visibility rather than the surname's older forms.
Darcey in use
Darcey ranks 197th in Scotland on 19 births, 263rd in Northern Ireland, 330th in England and Wales on 131, 764th in Ireland and 8988th in the United States on 11. Its largest market is England and Wales, where it peaked in 2015 with 740 births, and it is falling in our data. Our records carry it from 1996 across 13,092 lifetime births. The spread between Scotland and the United States is close to nine thousand places.
How popular is Darcey?
In 2025, Darcey was given to 131 babies in England and Wales, ranking #330 that year. It is a rare choice.
Where Darcey is used
Figures for England and Wales withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year, so a gap means the name fell below that floor rather than went unused. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Darcey
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Darcey also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Darcey over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Darcey
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Darcey in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Darcey
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Darcey — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Darcey
What does the name Darcey mean?
From Arcy, a place in Normandy. The dark reading comes from confusion with a separate Irish surname.
Is it Darcey or Darcy?
Darcy is the older surname spelling. Darcey is the girls' given-name spelling and is more common in Britain.
Is Darcey a girl's name?
Almost entirely — about 99 percent of recorded births in our data are female.
How popular is Darcey?
197th in Scotland and 330th in England and Wales, against 8988th in the United States.
How many syllables are in Darcey?
Darcey has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Darcey?
Darcey is usually shortened to Dar.
Is Darcey a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Darcey currently ranks #197 in England and Wales. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.