Given name & surname
Darling
Darling is a surname. It is used in English and Cebuano.
Meaning & origin
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1920. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Darling through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,060
- 15 boys · 1,045 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 52 babies
- 2025
- 47
- #3,301 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +33%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 47 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,301 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 34.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (8 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,905 as a first name in 2020; 18,195 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.
Darling’s family of names
Darling may belong to the same name family as DARLLING. This is a tentative spelling connection.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: across languages.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Darling
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Darling, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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Daiana
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>99% girls