Durell
Masculine
One r or two decides which family this belongs to. With two it is an English surname with a documented history; with one it looks like the built names — a meaningless front and a borrowed ending — and the record holds it accordingly, as a name that reads modern rather than inherited.
How old is the name Durell?
Durell first appears in US birth records in 1913 — 112 years ago. The typical Durell alive today was born around 1986, making them about 39 years old. About 1,400 people named Durell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Durell most popular?
Durell peaked in 1985, reaching #606 nationally. See the whole 1985 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Durrell to Durell
The story of Durell
Even on the surname side the trail stops fairly quickly. The family name is generally traced to a place in northern France, and the place has never been securely identified — several candidates have been proposed on the strength of a resemblance and none has documentation connecting it to the family. That is an entirely ordinary situation for a Norman surname: the names arrived with people whose origins were recorded loosely if at all, and eight hundred years later a plausible village is the best anybody can offer.
Meaningnot established
Not established
If the source is the surname a Norman place stands behind it. If the single r marks it as one of the constructed names, it has no meaning at all. The spelling is the only evidence and it is weak.
How the name formed
- Durrell
- Durell
Pronouncing Durell
duh-RELL
Two syllables with the weight at the back. The front is unstressed and reduces, which is why the vowel in it is spelled inconsistently.
Nicknames for Durell
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
- 1913
- Most boys named
- 1986123 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #606reached in 1985
- Change vs 2019
- 0.0%7 in 2022, from 7
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.
Durells among us
people named Durell 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
Durell 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
- The stress at the back gives it a decisive finish.
- The spelling follows the sound with nothing to explain.
- It is genuinely rare with no strong associations attached.
- Durrell with two r's is equally recorded and the spelling gets queried.
- No meaning can be given, because the route into the name is unclear.
- It is closely tied to the decades of its use.
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Durell
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Durells are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Durell are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Durell in 2025?
- Durell is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Durell with classmates?
- Durell 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 Durell? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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