girls' name ★ peaked 1958

Darlene

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,847 Trend → Stable

A 20th-century coinage from darling and names like Charlene and Marlene.

Rank 2025
#1,847
among girls · ↓67 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
108
named Darlene · -4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 14,882
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1958
8,307 babies
All-time total
205,546
#199 all-time among girls
First recorded
1896
in Social Security records

Darlene popularity over time

205,546 babies have been named Darlene since 1896, 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
1.252.53.75518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 11 – 11 1 – #1,446
1900s 92 – 92 9 +736% #970
1910s 1,000 – 1,000 100 +987% #435
1920s 7,426 12 7,438 744 +644% #160
1930s 25,956 109 26,065 2,607 +250% #72
1940s 40,321 140 40,461 4,046 +55% #71
1950s 61,886 138 62,024 6,202 +53% #49
1960s 43,527 150 43,677 4,368 -30% #75
1970s 11,484 48 11,532 1,153 -74% #155
1980s 5,184 7 5,191 519 -55% #362
1990s 3,348 – 3,348 335 -36% #483
2000s 2,372 – 2,372 237 -29% #826
2010s 1,685 – 1,685 169 -29% #1,132
2020s (to 2025) 650 – 650 108 -36% #1,780

Where Darlene 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 107 0.07 outside top 500
2027 105 0.07 outside top 500
2028 104 0.06 outside top 500
2029 104 0.06 outside top 500
2030 103 0.06 outside top 500

Where Darlene is most popular

Girls named Darlene per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.067 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and Florida.

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 Darlene 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
California 170 0.202 +204%
Texas 64 0.080 +20%
Florida 25 0.058 -12%
Pennsylvania 10 0.042 -36%
Arizona 5 0.036 -46%
New York 13 0.033 -51%
New Jersey 5 0.028 -58%
Michigan 5 0.027 -59%
Ohio 5 0.021 -68%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
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 Darlene

Darlene is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,847 in 2025 with 108 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1896, 205,546 American babies have been named Darlene. Its peak came in 1958, when 8,307 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

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 Darlene stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Darlene?

The median living Darlene is about 67 years old; half are between 60 and 75. An estimated 149 thousand people named Darlene are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

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

Darlene 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 108 #1,847 – –
2024 113 #1,780 – –
2023 108 #1,857 – –
2022 108 #1,873 – –
2021 103 #1,915 – –
2020 110 #1,796 – –
2019 122 #1,710 – –
2018 134 #1,598 – –
2017 146 #1,515 – –
2016 144 #1,552 – –
2015 160 #1,439 – –
2014 171 #1,364 – –
2013 187 #1,268 – –
2012 217 #1,132 – –
2011 196 #1,224 – –
2010 208 #1,168 – –
2009 215 #1,168 – –
2008 236 #1,102 – –
2007 223 #1,147 – –
2006 244 #1,050 – –
2005 225 #1,062 – –
2004 236 #999 – –
2003 203 #1,085 – –
2002 251 #894 – –
2001 266 #857 – –
2000 273 #826 – –
1995 272 #750 – –
1990 506 #483 – –
1985 471 #456 – –
1980 653 #362 – –
1975 905 #265 10 #3,490
1970 2,175 #155 11 #2,930
1965 4,356 #83 21 #1,732
1960 6,093 #75 17 #1,985
1955 5,641 #76 10 #2,612
1950 4,830 #79 11 #2,343
1945 3,626 #71 18 #1,591
1940 3,120 #79 15 #1,819
1935 2,703 #91 7 #3,019
1930 1,543 #141 9 #2,822
1925 741 #241 – –
1920 275 #398 – –
1915 89 #707 – –
1910 19 #1,006 – –
1905 6 #1,756 – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Darlene

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

  1. 1 Darlene Love Darlene Love American singer and actress (born 1941) Contemporary
  2. 2 Darlene Cates Darlene Cates American actress (1947–2017) Contemporary
  3. 3 Darlene Conley Darlene Conley American actress 1934–2007 · Contemporary
  4. 4 Darlene Hard Darlene Hard American tennis player (1936–2021) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Darlene?

The median living Darlene is about 67 years old. Half of all living Darlenes are between 60 and 75 years old.

How many people named Darlene are alive today?

An estimated 149 thousand people named Darlene are alive in the United States, based on 205,546 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Darlene mean?

A 20th-century coinage from darling and names like Charlene and Marlene.

How popular is the name Darlene in 2025?

Darlene ranked #1,847 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 108 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Darlene?

205,546 babies have been named Darlene in the United States since 1896, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Darlene most popular?

Darlene peaked in 1958, when 8,307 newborns received the name.

Is Darlene a boy or girl name?

Darlene is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Darlene rising or falling?

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

Will Darlene become more popular?

Darlene looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 103 girls named Darlene in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Darlene?

Well-known people named Darlene include Darlene Love (singer), Darlene Cates (actor), Darlene Conley (actor).

Names like Darlene

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

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