Darnel
Masculine
Darnel is given to both — 1,006 boys and 46 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Darnel is a weed. It grows in wheat fields, looks exactly like wheat until the ears form, and its seeds are dangerous when infected with a particular fungus — which is why medieval bread could be a lottery and why the plant has a long and unhappy literary history.
How old is the name Darnel?
Darnel first appears in US birth records in 1937 — 88 years ago. The typical Darnel alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 900 people named Darnel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Darnel most popular?
Darnel peaked in 1986, reaching #1725 nationally. See the whole 1986 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From an English surname from a place near Sheffield to Darnel
Our story of Darnel
It is worth pausing on how a plant gets a reputation. Darnel is not poisonous by itself; the trouble is a fungus that infects it and produces alkaloids, and the effects — dizziness, nausea, visual disturbance — gave the plant nicknames in several European languages about drunkenness and blindness. Sorting it out of the wheat was a job for children and the poorest laborers, done by hand, before the harvest was threshed. Modern seed cleaning removed the problem so completely that the plant is now rare in Europe, and a word that everybody once knew has become obscure inside a century.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Three candidates and no evidence. The name may be the plant, may be the English surname Darnell — which comes from a place near Sheffield — or may be a modern American assembly on the pattern of Darrell and Darius. The dropped final letter is the only thing distinguishing it from the surname, and that is not much to build an argument on.
How the name formed
- an English surname from a place near Sheffield
- darnel as the name of a weed in wheat fields
- modern seed cleaning makes the plant rare
- Darnel appears in American records in the 1930s
- peaks in the middle 1980s
Related forms: Darnell · Darnel
Pronouncing Darnel
dar-NEL
Two syllables with the stress at the back. Some families front it, DAR-nul, which is how the surname is usually said.
Nicknames for Darnel
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
- 1937
- Most boys named
- 198636 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1725reached in 1986
- Change vs 2018
- +33.3%8 in 2021, from 6
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.
Darnel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Darnell in English — spelling variant
- Darnel in French — same name
Darnels among us
people named Darnel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Darnel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly at sight once the stress is settled.
- It works for a child of either sex, and the record carries it on both sides.
- It is genuinely uncommon while sounding entirely familiar.
- Darnell is far commoner and the second l will be added back constantly.
- The plant sense is obscure now but a curious child will find it.
- The stress placement is unsettled between two readings.
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Darnel
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Darnels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 900 people named Darnel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Darnel in 2025?
- Darnel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Darnel with classmates?
- Darnel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Darnel? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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