Given name & surname · also Gaelic, Old Norse
Darby
“of the deer park”
Darby is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “of the deer park.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “of the deer park.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old Norse.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Darby through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,278
- 2,940 boys · 8,338 girls
- Most popular year
- 1995
- 539 babies
- 2025
- 81
- #2,564 for girls · #6,540 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −29%
- Easing
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 18% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 68 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,564 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 29.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 491 in 1995. It also appeared in 13 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (7). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 9,906 as a first name in 2020; 18,041 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Darby’s family of names
Darby has a related form in Darbie. Darby has a related form in Derby. Darby has a related form in Darb.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 16
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Darby
- Darby StanchfieldAmerican actressborn 1971
- Darby CampAmerican actressborn 2007
- Darby CrashAmerican musician (1958–1980)
- Darby Hintonactor, born 1957
- Darby HendricksonAmerican ice hockey playerborn 1972
- Darby ConleyAmerican cartoonistborn 1970
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Darby, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Diamond
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19% boys · 81% girls
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“from the field of hay”
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Karina
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Katelyn
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>99% girls