Darla
Feminine · English roots · “from the English word "darling”
Darla is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 43,667 girls against 27 boys since 1880.
Darla is an American name through and through, built from the plain English word darling and shaped in the twentieth century rather than carried over from anywhere older. Two syllables, no silent letters, the open first vowel landing on a soft ending — it reads correctly the first time, to almost anyone. It was already circulating when a child actress named Darla joined the Our Gang comedy shorts in the 1930s, and it has never fully left American ears since.
How old is the name Darla?
Darla first appears in US birth records in 1924 — 101 years ago. The typical Darla alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 37,500 people named Darla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Darla most popular?
Darla peaked in 1963, reaching #165 nationally. Today it ranks #941, 776 places below that high. See the whole 1963 chart.
Darla appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From darling (English word) to Darla
The story of Darla
Darla belongs to a family of names that English speakers made for themselves rather than inherited — affectionate words turned into given names, with Darlene the best known of the group. It appears in American records in the early twentieth century, at a time when "-lene" and "-la" endings were being freely built onto familiar English words, and its rise ran roughly alongside Darlene's. The Our Gang film shorts of the 1930s put a Darla in front of a very large audience, and the name climbed through the mid-century decades to a comfortable, widely recognized level. Its use has stayed centered on the United States; unlike Charlotte or Anna, it never had older forms in other languages to travel back to.
Meaning
from the English word "darling"
The route is worth knowing: Darla is usually described either as a direct pet formation from "darling" or as a short form of Darlene, which was itself coined from the same word. Either way, the root is the same.
How the name formed
- darlingEnglish word
- Darlene
- Darla
Pronouncing Darla
DAR-luh
Stress on the first syllable. One pronunciation, and the spelling gives it away — no correcting required.
Nicknames for Darla
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1924
- Most girls named
- 19632,391 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #165reached in 1963
- Change vs 2023
- +38.2%275 in 2025, from 199
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Darla in other languages
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York.
Darlas among us
people named Darla are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 5,845 born in 2025 was named Darla
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Laverne test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Darla's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Laverne climbed just as high around 1928, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Laverne's path sketches the road Darla is walking now.
Darla is on its second act. Revived names age gently: the generation that wore them first is far enough away that the name feels classic rather than dated.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Darla is headed
Darla looks set to keep climbing gently, with roughly 17% more babies a year by 2030 if the current curve holds.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Darla beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Darla in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds: two syllables, no variant spellings competing for attention, rarely misheard when said aloud.
- Long familiarity in the United States means it needs no explanation, even though a child carrying it now is unlikely to meet another.
- Sits next to the well-known Darlene, so people place it instantly within a family of names they already recognize.
- Short enough to stand alone, with Dar available for informal use.
- Finding Nemo gave the name to the fish-shaking niece, and children who have seen the film may make that connection first. It fades, but it is worth knowing before you commit.
- The name is still strongly represented among women now in their sixties, so it carries a mid-century American flavor — part of the appeal for many parents, and worth naming honestly.
- Said quickly, it can be heard as Darlene, Marla or Carla over the phone or in a noisy room. Not a lifelong problem, just an occasional repeat.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Darla
Feminine · English roots · #941 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Darlas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 37,500 people named Darla are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Darla in 2025?
- Darla ranks #941 among US girl names in 2025, with 275 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Darla?
- About 1 in every 5,845 US girls born in 2025 was named Darla — 275 in all.
- Will my child share the name Darla with classmates?
- Darla will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Darla
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Elara#941 · Zaria#943 · Tallulah#939 · Saanvi#943 · Mariella#943 · Ayra#939 · Alianna#938 · Kimber#936
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Darla? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Darla and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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