Given name
Darnelle
“a secretive woman”·“from the hidden place”
Darnelle is a variant of Darnell. Interpretations include “a secretive woman” (English) and “from the hidden place” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Darnelle is a variant of Darnell. Interpretations include “a secretive woman” (English) and “from the hidden place” (English). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Darnelle is a variant of Darnell. An origin associated with Darnell is English.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1943. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Darnelle through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 616
- 367 boys · 249 girls
- Most popular year
- 1984
- 28 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #12,460 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 12,460 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 610 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Darnelle’s family of names
Darnelle has a related form in Darnell.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Darnelle, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Dusty
“a brave fighter; from a dusty place”
71% boys · 29% girls
Dakotah
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Dominique
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63% boys · 37% girls
Dillan
“resembling a lion; a faithful man” · “daughter of the waves”
83% boys · 17% girls
Azure
“sky blue” · “resembling a blue semiprecious stone”
52% boys · 48% girls
Nikita
“unconquered, unconquerable”
57% boys · 43% girls
Kirby
“from the church town” · “from the village with the church”
48% boys · 52% girls
Seneca
“a tribal name”
41% boys · 59% girls