girl's name
Darlene
dar-LEEN
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 206,514
Ireland
#579
1996 births
Darlene is a girl's name built from the English word darling, and it is one of a small group of American twentieth-century coinages that used the -ene ending. It peaked in 1958 and ranks 1846th in the United States.
- Darlene is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 1958, when 8,307 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 30,698 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1896.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Darlene over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1890s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1890s | 11 |
| 1900s | 92 |
| 1910s | 1,000 |
| 1920s | 7,438 |
| 1930s | 26,065 |
| 1940s | 40,461 |
| 1950s | 62,024 |
| 1960s | 43,677 |
| 1970s | 11,532 |
| 1980s | 5,191 |
| 1990s | 3,348 |
| 2000s | 2,372 |
| 2010s | 1,685 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 650 |
What Darlene means
Darlene means darling, or dearly loved. It is built from the English endearment rather than from any older personal name, so the meaning is exactly what the word says.
Where Darlene comes from
Darlene is an American coinage of the early twentieth century, built from darling with the -ene ending that also produced Charlene, Marlene and Arlene. Darling itself is the Old English deorling, a diminutive of deor, dear. Darla, which appears elsewhere in these pages, is usually described as a short form of Darlene, but our records carry Darla from 1924 and Darlene from 1896, so the relationship may run either way or the two may simply be parallel formations from the same word.
Darlene in use
Darlene peaked in the United States in 1958, when 8,307 babies were registered, and is falling in our data. It now charts in two of the seven markets we track — 1846th in the United States on 108 births and 5045th in France — across 206,514 lifetime births. Our records carry it from 1896, twenty-eight years before Darla, which complicates the usual account that Darla is the shortening.
How popular is Darlene?
In 2025, Darlene was given to 108 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Darlene 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.
How Darlene is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Darlène | Darlène is a rare spelling of Darlene, written with a grave accent and recorded about 65 times, mostly in France. | 65 |
Names that peaked alongside Darlene
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Darlene also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Darlene over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Darlene
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.
Darlene 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.
- Dutch
- Charlene
Sibling names for Darlene
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Darlene — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Darlene
What does the name Darlene mean?
Darling — built from the English endearment with the -ene ending.
Is Darla short for Darlene?
Usually described that way, but our records carry Darlene from 1896 and Darla from 1924, so the relationship is not settled.
Are there similar names?
Charlene, Marlene and Arlene use the same American -ene ending.
How popular is Darlene?
1846th in the United States, down from a 1958 peak of 8,307 births.
Is Darlene a girl's or a boy's name?
Darlene is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Darlene?
Darlene has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Darlene?
Darlene is usually shortened to Dar.
Is Darlene a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Darlene currently ranks #1,846 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.