Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Darley isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1936. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Darley through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 18
- 6 boys · 12 girls
- Most popular year
- 1936
- 6 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 6 in 2023. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 233 as a first name in 2020; 1,515 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.
People named Darley
- Darleys PérezColombian boxerborn 1983
- DarleyBrazilian footballerborn 1989
- Darley José KummerRoman Catholic bishopborn 1967
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Darley, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Arlyn
“a solemn, binding promise” · “an oath; a pledge”
24% boys · 76% girls
Dosie
30% boys · 70% girls
Dannie
“he judged”
47% boys · 53% girls
Maxie
“the greatest”
22% boys · 78% girls
Gean
“fettered”
46% boys · 54% girls
Merlyn
Merlyn is a variant of Merlin. One Welsh interpretation is “of the sea fortress; in Arthurian legend, the wizard and mentor of King Arthur.”
31% boys · 69% girls
Mackie
“the son of”
56% boys · 44% girls
Marvel
“an extraordinary woman” · “an extraordinary man”
48% boys · 52% girls