unisex name
Darnelle
- Gender Unisex
- Letters 8
- Popularity Rare
- Births on record 636
Darnelle is a unisex name. It is given to both girls and boys — about 40% of recorded births with this name are girls. In 2025 it was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
- Peaked in 1984, when 28 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 663,130 babies in the United States is given this name.
- Darnelle started out as a girls' name and is now given almost entirely to boys.
- First appears in US birth records in 1943.
Darnelle over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1940s 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 |
|---|---|
| 1940s | 26 |
| 1950s | 26 |
| 1960s | 86 |
| 1970s | 90 |
| 1980s | 197 |
| 1990s | 119 |
| 2000s | 55 |
| 2010s | 7 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 10 |
How popular is Darnelle?
In 2025, Darnelle was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Where Darnelle 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 Darnelle
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Darnelle also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Darnelle over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Sibling names for Darnelle
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Darnelle — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Darnelle
How popular is the name Darnelle?
In 2025, Darnelle was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.
Is Darnelle a girl's or a boy's name?
Darnelle is used for both girls and boys. About 40% of recorded births with this name are girls.
When was Darnelle most popular?
Darnelle peaked in 1984, when 28 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Darnelle a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Darnelle currently ranks #13,290 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.
Was Darnelle originally a boys' or girls' name?
Darnelle was given mostly to girls in the earliest US birth records and is now given almost entirely to boys.