boy's name
Dariel
dah-ree-EL
- Origin Disputed
- Gender Boy
- Letters 6
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 9,547
the United States
#327
2025 births
Dariel is a boy's name with no settled origin. It is used as an elaboration of Darío, the Spanish form of the Persian Darius, and separately as a variant of Darrell, a Norman French place name — reference sources disagree and the beloved gloss belongs to neither.
- Dariel is a name of Disputed origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 1,048 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 3,163 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1922.
Dariel over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1920s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1920s | 40 |
| 1930s | 58 |
| 1940s | 78 |
| 1950s | 88 |
| 1960s | 93 |
| 1970s | 49 |
| 1980s | 175 |
| 1990s | 486 |
| 2000s | 919 |
| 2010s | 2,871 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,598 |
What Dariel means
Dariel has no confirmed meaning. Through Darius it would carry the Old Persian sense of one who holds firm to the good; through Darrell it would name a place in Normandy. The beloved reading widely repeated online matches neither line.
Where Dariel comes from
Dariel is a modern name with at least two candidate ancestors. Darius comes from the Old Persian Darayavahush, generally read as holding firm to the good, borne by three kings of Persia including the one defeated at Marathon; Spanish forms it as Darío and Dariel extends that. Alternatively it varies Darrell, a Norman surname from d'Airelle, a place in Calvados, which entered American use as a given name in the twentieth century. Neither derivation gives beloved, which appears to have been attached by association with the sound of names like Darling. It appears in our records from 1922 and is used mostly by Spanish-speaking families.
Dariel in use
Dariel charts in five of the seven countries we track and reached its highest recorded use in 2025.
How popular is Dariel?
In 2025, Dariel was given to 1,048 babies in the United States, ranking #327 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Dariel is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Dariel
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dariel also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dariel over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Dariel
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.
Dariel 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 Dariel
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dariel — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dariel
What does the name Dariel mean?
There is no settled meaning. It is used as an extension of Darío, from the Persian Darius, and as a variant of Darrell.
Is Dariel a Spanish name?
It is used mostly by Spanish-speaking families, as an elaboration of Darío.
Does Dariel mean beloved?
That reading is widely repeated but matches neither of the name's candidate origins.
How popular is the name Dariel?
In 2025, Dariel was given to 1,048 babies in the United States, ranking #327 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Dariel a girl's or a boy's name?
Dariel is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
When was Dariel most popular?
Dariel peaked in 2025, when 1,048 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Dariel?
Dariel is usually shortened to Dari.
Is Dariel a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dariel currently ranks #327 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.