Darwin
Darwin was given to 241 boys in 2025, #961 among boys’ names; 26,436 Americans have been recorded with it since 1881 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 16,600 Americans named Darwin and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 44 years old and half are between 17 and 66.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Darwin by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Darwin mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Darwin is “a male given name transferred from the surname, deriving from the Old English name Dēorwine and revived through the surname.” Its etymology gives the senses “a given name” (Dēorwine) and “dear” (dēore) and “friend” (wine).
From Middle English Darwin, Derwin, from Old English Dēorwine (“a given name”), composed of dēore (“dear”) + wine (“friend”).
/ˈdɑɹwɪn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Darwin?
#961 among boys’ names, 2025
Darwin fell from #869 in 2015 to #961 in 2025 among boys’ names, although its share of boys born rose from 0.13 to 0.14 per 1,000.
425 babies in 1958, the peak
Darwin peaked in 1958, when 425 babies were given it (418 boys, #380 among boys’ names). The 241 births of 2025 are 57% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 241 | #961 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 293 | #839 | 0.17 |
| 2023 | 228 | #970 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 229 | #984 | 0.13 |
| 2021 | 196 | #1,083 | 0.11 |
| 2020 | 248 | #905 | 0.14 |
| 2019 | 223 | #958 | 0.12 |
| 2018 | 237 | #907 | 0.13 |
| 2017 | 266 | #833 | 0.14 |
| 2016 | 263 | #857 | 0.14 |
Every recorded year (131)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 256 | #869 | 0.13 |
| 2014 | 236 | #909 | 0.12 |
| 2013 | 259 | #829 | 0.14 |
| 2012 | 248 | #856 | 0.13 |
| 2011 | 291 | #773 | 0.15 |
| 2010 | 313 | #732 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 314 | #740 | 0.16 |
| 2008 | 280 | #785 | 0.14 |
| 2007 | 261 | #822 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 266 | #781 | 0.13 |
| 2005 | 212 | #866 | 0.11 |
| 2004 | 217 | #819 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 197 | #870 | 0.10 |
| 2002 | 179 | #900 | 0.09 |
| 2001 | 180 | #877 | 0.09 |
| 2000 | 146 | #1,005 | 0.07 |
| 1999 | 129 | #1,056 | 0.07 |
| 1998 | 132 | #1,021 | 0.07 |
| 1997 | 136 | #966 | 0.07 |
| 1996 | 105 | #1,129 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 120 | #1,011 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 137 | #940 | 0.07 |
| 1993 | 136 | #919 | 0.07 |
| 1992 | 126 | #953 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 143 | #879 | 0.07 |
| 1990 | 128 | #906 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 148 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 129 | #836 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 115 | #871 | 0.06 |
| 1986 | 106 | #881 | 0.06 |
| 1985 | 107 | #877 | 0.06 |
| 1984 | 122 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 96 | #897 | 0.05 |
| 1982 | 88 | #957 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 120 | #803 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 119 | #805 | 0.07 |
| 1979 | 102 | #859 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 106 | #832 | 0.06 |
| 1977 | 118 | #788 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 84 | #907 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 125 | #747 | 0.08 |
| 1974 | 144 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1973 | 144 | #667 | 0.09 |
| 1972 | 142 | #675 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 191 | #601 | 0.11 |
| 1970 | 207 | #563 | 0.11 |
| 1969 | 260 | #474 | 0.15 |
| 1968 | 297 | #444 | 0.17 |
| 1967 | 299 | #437 | 0.17 |
| 1966 | 332 | #415 | 0.19 |
| 1965 | 383 | #403 | 0.21 |
| 1964 | 354 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1963 | 347 | #429 | 0.17 |
| 1962 | 398 | #404 | 0.19 |
| 1961 | 374 | #408 | 0.18 |
| 1960 | 392 | #399 | 0.18 |
| 1959 | 397 | #399 | 0.19 |
| 1958 | 418 | #380 | 0.20 |
| 1957 | 382 | #395 | 0.18 |
| 1956 | 371 | #389 | 0.18 |
| 1955 | 343 | #389 | 0.17 |
| 1954 | 320 | #399 | 0.16 |
| 1953 | 313 | #396 | 0.16 |
| 1952 | 299 | #397 | 0.15 |
| 1951 | 323 | #377 | 0.17 |
| 1950 | 324 | #376 | 0.18 |
| 1949 | 302 | #386 | 0.17 |
| 1948 | 295 | #395 | 0.17 |
| 1947 | 350 | #369 | 0.19 |
| 1946 | 298 | #378 | 0.18 |
| 1945 | 235 | #390 | 0.17 |
| 1944 | 303 | #343 | 0.22 |
| 1943 | 332 | #334 | 0.23 |
| 1942 | 326 | #336 | 0.24 |
| 1941 | 283 | #345 | 0.23 |
| 1940 | 309 | #320 | 0.27 |
| 1939 | 332 | #306 | 0.30 |
| 1938 | 338 | #297 | 0.30 |
| 1937 | 299 | #309 | 0.28 |
| 1936 | 304 | #305 | 0.29 |
| 1935 | 330 | #299 | 0.32 |
| 1934 | 300 | #314 | 0.29 |
| 1933 | 300 | #308 | 0.30 |
| 1932 | 281 | #330 | 0.27 |
| 1931 | 259 | #339 | 0.25 |
| 1930 | 280 | #332 | 0.26 |
| 1929 | 278 | #332 | 0.26 |
| 1928 | 252 | #367 | 0.23 |
| 1927 | 242 | #378 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 202 | #426 | 0.18 |
| 1925 | 225 | #398 | 0.20 |
| 1924 | 218 | #414 | 0.19 |
| 1923 | 215 | #409 | 0.20 |
| 1922 | 188 | #445 | 0.17 |
| 1921 | 214 | #415 | 0.19 |
| 1920 | 174 | #460 | 0.16 |
| 1919 | 155 | #481 | 0.16 |
| 1918 | 156 | #472 | 0.15 |
| 1917 | 133 | #498 | 0.14 |
| 1916 | 150 | #465 | 0.17 |
| 1915 | 139 | #467 | 0.16 |
| 1914 | 75 | #580 | 0.11 |
| 1913 | 74 | #503 | 0.14 |
| 1912 | 45 | #615 | 0.10 |
| 1911 | 19 | #736 | 0.08 |
| 1910 | 18 | #714 | 0.09 |
| 1909 | 11 | #908 | 0.07 |
| 1908 | 11 | #838 | 0.07 |
| 1907 | 11 | #827 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 7 | #1,032 | 0.05 |
| 1904 | 8 | #898 | 0.06 |
| 1903 | 5 | #1,161 | 0.04 |
| 1901 | 8 | #791 | 0.08 |
| 1900 | 5 | #1,355 | 0.03 |
| 1898 | 8 | #822 | 0.07 |
| 1897 | 7 | #866 | 0.06 |
| 1893 | 5 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1889 | 8 | #734 | 0.07 |
| 1884 | 5 | #1,004 | 0.04 |
| 1882 | 5 | #967 | 0.04 |
| 1881 | 5 | #897 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Darwin a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Darwin has been given almost only to boys: 89 girls in 131 years of records.
Girls and boys named Darwin: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Darwin, and how old are they?
16,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 26,436 Americans ever recorded as Darwin. The median Darwin alive today is 44 years old; half are between 17 and 66.
The 2020 Census counted 21,720 people named Darwin (168 women and girls, 21,552 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 16,877 born in the U.S. The Census count is 29% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,050 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,420 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,650 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,840 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,480 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,180 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Darwin born?
The states with the most babies named Darwin are New York, California and Texas, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,923 | #925 | 0.9× |
| California | 1,886 | #913 | 0.8× |
| Texas | 1,853 | #882 | 1.0× |
| Michigan | 1,596 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Iowa | 1,491 | #516 | 3.6× |
| Minnesota | 1,091 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Illinois | 1,082 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,071 | #936 | 0.7× |
| Wisconsin | 715 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Ohio | 691 | #1,139 | 0.5× |
Where Darwin is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Darwin is most over-represented in South Dakota: since 1910 it was given 5.0 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Darwin with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 31,005 babies since 1880, Darwin is the most given (85% of them). In 2025 it was given to 241 of their 257 babies (94%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Darwin
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Darwin and names like it
- Compare Darwin and DerwinBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDarwin peaked in 1958.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Darwin since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Darwin: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1958The year the most babies were named Darwin.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Darwin alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.