Darlin
Feminine · “little dear one”
Darlin is given to both — 845 girls and 91 boys since 1880. See other names given to both
Darlin is the English word darling with the g dropped, and the word is Old English — deorling, a little dear one.
How old is the name Darlin?
Darlin first appears in US birth records in 1950 — 75 years ago. The typical Darlin alive today was born around 2007, making them about 18 years old. About 800 people named Darlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Darlin most popular?
Darlin peaked in 1954, reaching #3718 nationally. Today it ranks #4067, 349 places below that high. See the whole 1954 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From deorling to Darlin
The story of Darlin
Deorling is a thousand years old and has meant a beloved person the whole time, which is unusual — most affectionate words wear out and get replaced. The clipped spelling Darlin reflects American southern speech and appears in the records from the 1930s. It is also used in Spanish-speaking countries, particularly the Dominican Republic, for both sexes.
Meaning
little dear one
From Old English deorling, joining deore, dear or beloved, to the diminutive -ling; the same first element gives Darwin and Dearborn, and -ling gives duckling and yearling.
How the name formed
- deorling
- darling
- Darlin
Related forms: Darling · Darlin
Pronouncing Darlin
DAR-lin
Two syllables, first stressed. Spanish speakers say dar-LEEN.
Nicknames for Darlin
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
- 1950
- Most girls named
- 200735 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3718reached in 1954
- Change vs 2024
- +59.1%35 in 2025, from 22
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.
Darlin in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Darling in English — spelling variant
- Darlin in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas.
Darlins among us
people named Darlin are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 45,922 born in 2025 was named Darlin
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Darlin
- #4067
- Darlin on the 2025 chart
- #888
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Darlin went to 35 girls in 2025, but Darlyn and Darlynn are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 72, which makes it the 888th most-given girls’ name of the year — 3,179 places above the chart.
About 1 girl in 22,323 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 45,922 for Darlin itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Diva test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Darlin's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Diva climbed just as high around 1917, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Diva's path sketches the road Darlin is walking now.
Darlin sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Darlin is headed
Darlin should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind. Its history is short or jumpy, though, so read this as a sketch rather than a promise.
Low 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.
Darlin beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Darlin in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled meaning that is warm and entirely transparent.
- Lin is a complete short form in its own right.
- Read correctly on sight by every English speaker.
- It is an ordinary term of endearment, which strangers will use knowingly.
- It is used for both sexes in the Dominican Republic, so forms may guess wrong.
- The dropped g reads as informal to some people.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Darlin
Feminine · #4067 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Darlins are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Darlin are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Darlin?
- Darlin is the most-used spelling in US records — 35 of the 72 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Darlyn and Darlynn.
- How popular is the name Darlin in 2025?
- Darlin ranks #4067 among US girl names in 2025, with 35 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Darlin?
- About 1 in every 45,922 US girls born in 2025 was named Darlin — 35 in all.
- Will my child share the name Darlin with classmates?
- Darlin will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Darlin
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eli#4067 · Peace#4067 · Medina#4067 · Anja#4067 · Sparrow#4067 · Liani#4067 · Kaleigha#4067 · Salina#4067
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Darlin? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Darlin and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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