Given name
Darrel
“one who is dearly loved”
Darrel is used as a given name. One English interpretation is “one who is dearly loved.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who is dearly loved.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Darrel is a variant of Darrell. The history of Darrell gives this family its wider story. Darrell’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Darrel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 29,892
- 29,769 boys · 123 girls
- Most popular year
- 1960
- 664 babies
- 2025
- 17
- #5,435 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 17 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 5,435 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 7.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 659 in 1960. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 18,962 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.
Darrel’s family of names
Darrel has a related form in Darrell. Darrel has a related form in Darrell. Darrel has a related form in Darryl.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 23
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.
People named Darrel
- Darrel BrownTrinidadian athletics competitor (born 1984)
- Darrel MitchellAmerican basketball player (born 1984)
- Darrel FrostAmerican herpetologistborn 1951
- Darrel BrownAmerican basketball player1923–1990
- Darrel RayAmerican writer and atheist activistborn 1950
- Darrel ScovilleCanadian ice hockey playerborn 1975
- Darrel BaldockAustralian rules football player and coach (1938–2011)
- D. J. JohnsonAmerican basketball player (born 1993)
- Darrel AkerfeldsAmerican baseball player (1962–2012)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Darrel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Darvin
“a beloved friend”
>99% boys
Daron
“the great one” · “from a small rocky hill”
>99% boys
Dale
“from the small valley” · “from the valley”
97% boys · 3% girls
Derwin
“a friend of the deer; a gifted friend”
>99% boys
Darren
“a great man” · “a gift from God”
>99% boys
Darwin
“a beloved friend”
99% boys · 1% girls
Dan
“he judged”
97% boys · 3% girls
Gale
“a foreigner” · “one who is cheerful”
85% boys · 15% girls