Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 1995

Darby

Gender Unisex · 74% girls Rank 2025 #2,564 Trend ↓ Falling 24%

Darby is an English locational surname and has since become a given name.

Rank 2025
#2,564
among girls · ↑567 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
81
named Darby · +33% vs 2024
How common
1 in 23,636
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1995
539 babies
All-time total
11,278
#1,865 all-time among girls
First recorded
1913
in Social Security records

Darby popularity over time

11,278 babies have been named Darby since 1913, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.080.150.230.318801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 22 22 2 – –
1920s – 47 47 5 +114% –
1930s 13 56 69 7 +47% #3,200
1940s 176 88 264 26 +283% #1,714
1950s 276 222 498 50 +89% #1,407
1960s 444 408 852 85 +71% #1,555
1970s 616 707 1,323 132 +55% #1,255
1980s 666 281 947 95 -28% #1,321
1990s 2,599 366 2,965 297 +213% #499
2000s 1,948 346 2,294 229 -23% #866
2010s 1,162 301 1,463 146 -36% #1,483
2020s (to 2025) 438 96 534 89 -39% #2,029

Where Darby is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 65 0.04 outside top 500
2027 62 0.04 outside top 500
2028 60 0.04 outside top 500
2029 58 0.04 outside top 500
2030 57 0.04 outside top 500

Where Darby is most popular

Girls named Darby per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.044 per 1,000. Strongest in Ohio, Tennessee, and South Carolina.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Darby born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Ohio 14 0.059 +34%
Tennessee 9 0.057 +29%
South Carolina 5 0.056 +27%
Alabama 5 0.053 +21%
Georgia 11 0.048 +10%
Missouri 5 0.041 -5%
Texas 21 0.026 -40%
North Carolina 5 0.022 -50%
California 15 0.018 -59%
New York 5 0.013 -71%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Darby

Darby is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,564 in 2025 with 68 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1913, 11,278 American babies have been named Darby, about 74% girls and 26% boys, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1995, when 539 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1990s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Darby stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Darby?

The median living Darby is about 28 years old; half are between 19 and 44. An estimated 11 thousand people named Darby are alive in the United States today.

median 28 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Darby year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 68 #2,564 13 #6,540
2024 51 #3,131 10 #7,892
2023 74 #2,425 20 #4,916
2022 68 #2,584 13 #6,571
2021 95 #2,029 22 #4,521
2020 82 #2,200 18 #5,077
2019 89 #2,113 20 #4,837
2018 89 #2,135 31 #3,552
2017 123 #1,724 22 #4,499
2016 120 #1,736 17 #5,365
2015 110 #1,863 27 #3,902
2014 106 #1,897 29 #3,629
2013 119 #1,739 32 #3,351
2012 118 #1,746 40 #2,915
2011 136 #1,592 37 #3,065
2010 152 #1,483 46 #2,645
2009 136 #1,643 23 #4,311
2008 161 #1,463 37 #3,117
2007 189 #1,294 42 #2,827
2006 156 #1,441 37 #2,992
2005 197 #1,169 25 #3,739
2004 188 #1,192 25 #3,658
2003 215 #1,054 46 #2,319
2002 235 #952 35 #2,703
2001 217 #989 36 #2,632
2000 254 #866 40 #2,389
1995 491 #499 48 #1,808
1990 68 #1,994 33 #2,183
1985 84 #1,476 27 #2,085
1980 49 #2,104 20 #2,460
1975 43 #2,028 50 #1,196
1970 83 #1,295 130 #721
1965 32 #2,072 16 #2,000
1960 51 #1,566 37 #1,303
1955 51 #1,407 20 #1,739
1950 18 #2,362 10 #2,469
1945 10 #2,953 6 #3,065
1940 9 #3,008 10 #2,360
1935 – – 5 #3,780
1930 – – – –
1925 – – 11 #2,628
1920 – – 7 #3,562
1915 – – 5 #3,955
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Darby

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Darby Stanchfield Darby Stanchfield American actress (born 1971) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Darby, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Darby?

The median living Darby is about 28 years old. Half of all living Darbys are between 19 and 44 years old.

How many people named Darby are alive today?

An estimated 11 thousand people named Darby are alive in the United States, based on 11,278 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Darby mean?

Darby is an English locational surname and has since become a given name.

How popular is the name Darby in 2025?

Darby ranked #2,564 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 68 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Darby?

11,278 babies have been named Darby in the United States since 1913, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Darby most popular?

Darby peaked in 1995, when 539 newborns received the name.

Is Darby a boy or girl name?

Darby is used for both: about 74% of babies named Darby have been girls and 26% boys.

Is the name Darby rising or falling?

Darby is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Darby become more popular?

Darby is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 57 girls named Darby in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Darby?

Well-known people named Darby include Darby Stanchfield (actor).

Names like Darby

Names that sound and feel close to Darby: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Darby with similar names → More names starting with D →