Unisex name · since 1949

Darien

Darien has 10,977 recorded births since 1949 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1994 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.

#1,143 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#1,437 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
10,977
born since 1949
1990s
peak decade

Yes -- Darien is the #1437 most popular unisex name in the U.S. today, with 10,977 recorded since 1949.

Darien has 10,977 recorded births among boys since 1949, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #1437 as of the latest data, more common than 90% of boys, busiest in the 1990s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1949 to 2025.

  • #1,143 of 45,481 all-time among boys
  • #1,437 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
  • 10,977 born since 1949
  • 1990s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Darien ranks #1,143 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,437 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 10,977 born since 1949, peaking in the 1990s.

#1,143 of 45,481
all-time among boys
#1,437 of 13,930
2025 SSA year
10,977
born since 1949
1990s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%89.6%
Darien vs. every other boys name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Darien's 10,977 recorded births place it above 97.48% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.

37 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

37 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Darien compares

10,977 Top 9% higher than 91% of 13,930 names currently given to boys

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Darien's all-time total is 30x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Darien Median boys name (Takari) #1 boys name (Liam)
All-time total births 10,977 369 358,536
Peak-year births 607 34 22,252

Darien's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Darien splits its recorded history at 1990: 84% of all births land in the more recent half, 16% in the earlier half, a lean toward present-day use rather than a passing spike. The single quietest year was 1949 (7 births) -- compare that against the 1994 peak of 607 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.

Darien popularity over time - boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1949–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1994)
607
Annual births at peak, across 77 years of records
0200400600800 194919631972198119901999200820172025 125

Darien popularity over time - girls

1,849 total births recorded since 1937 (Darien as girls' name)

Unisex variant - 1,849 births
050100150200 193719531964197419881998200820202024 5

Darien by decade

1990s is the heaviest window (3,583 births, 33% of the file).

1990s was Darien's strongest decade.

3,583 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 33% of all-time use.

Darien births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1990s at 3,583 births (33% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Darien compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Darien's total volume

Darien vs 15 similarly-sized boys names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -122, 5.3%-109, 7.2%-146, 2.1%-108, 4%-114, 6.1%-146, 6.4%-124, 2.3%-66, 5.8%-29, 8.8%-146, 4.6%-144, 3.2%-122, 2%-120, 7.1%-146, 3.7%-146, 1.9%Darien-77, 5.5%Darien
Darien vs 15 similarly-sized boys names

Darien by state

Where Darien concentrates geographically, total births since 1949

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Darien
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
1,015 9.2%
#2 New York
959 8.7%
#3 Texas
874 8.0%
#4 Florida
703 6.4%
#5 Illinois
512 4.7%
#6 Georgia
452 4.1%
#7 Pennsylvania
385 3.5%
#8 Ohio
313 2.9%
California share of Darien's total US births 9.2%
Even split

1,015 of 10,977 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 37 reporting states.

Darien appears in 37 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Darien? ▼
10,977 babies have been named Darien since 1949. All-time, it sits at #1,143 of 45,481 boys' names by recorded births. In 2025, it ranks #1,437 of 13,930 among boys. The peak year was 1994 with 607 births.
Where does Darien sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Darien ranks #1,143 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,437 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Darien most popular? ▼
Darien was most popular in the 1990s decade with 3,583 total births. The single peak year was 1994.
Where is Darien most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Darien are California (1,015 births), New York (959 births), Texas (874 births).
Is Darien a unisex name? ▼
Yes, Darien is used for both boys and girls. As a boy's name it has 10,977 births, and as a girl's name it has 1,849 births.
How long has the name Darien been used? ▼
Records for Darien go back to 1949, giving 77 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Darien? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Darrell, Darren, Darryl, Daryl, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

What to do with Darien's data

  • Darien's decade-level peak was the 1990s (3,583 total births); usage has since declined to 801 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Dariens (1,015 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Darien

Nearby Names Like Darien

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Darien

Darrell Boy
#1690 159,766 births
Darren Boy
#1133 103,937 births
Darryl Boy
#2110 92,285 births
Daryl Boy
#1532 63,058 births
Darius Boy
#789 54,006 births

Compare Darien side by side: Darien vs Darrell Darien vs Darren Darien vs Darryl

Or pick any two names to compare →

Related Names

Names with a similar popularity rank to Darien

Milton #1436
117,936 births · Peak 1920
Giancarlo #1438
8,652 births · Peak 2008
Finneas #1435
1,129 births · Peak 2025
Raheem #1439
8,524 births · Peak 1993
Kaine #1434
3,621 births · Peak 2017
Niam #1440
1,798 births · Peak 2021
Dev #1433
3,146 births · Peak 2009
Malakhi #1441
3,043 births · Peak 2019

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Darien: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1949–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Darien draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.