# Darlene (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/darlene/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɑːliːn/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Darlena, Darleen, Darline, Darlina, Darlyn, Darlynn, Darlyne |
| US babies named this | 205,546 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 604 / 204,942 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 72, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

A 20th-century coinage from darling and names like Charlene and Marlene.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 196 | 1,224 |
| 2012 | 217 | 1,132 |
| 2013 | 187 | 1,268 |
| 2014 | 171 | 1,364 |
| 2015 | 160 | 1,439 |
| 2016 | 144 | 1,552 |
| 2017 | 146 | 1,515 |
| 2018 | 134 | 1,598 |
| 2019 | 122 | 1,710 |
| 2020 | 110 | 1,796 |
| 2021 | 103 | 1,915 |
| 2022 | 108 | 1,873 |
| 2023 | 108 | 1,857 |
| 2024 | 113 | 1,780 |
| 2025 | 108 | 1,847 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1962 | 15 | 2,133 |
| 1963 | 12 | 2,446 |
| 1964 | 20 | 1,802 |
| 1965 | 21 | 1,732 |
| 1966 | 14 | 2,155 |
| 1967 | 15 | 2,048 |
| 1968 | 13 | 2,349 |
| 1969 | 6 | 4,043 |
| 1970 | 11 | 2,930 |
| 1971 | 7 | 4,061 |
| 1972 | 9 | 3,408 |
| 1973 | 6 | 4,621 |
| 1975 | 10 | 3,490 |
| 1976 | 5 | 5,788 |
| 1989 | 7 | 6,364 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 5 | 2,746 |
| 2002 | 6 | 2,540 |
| 2005 | 3 | 4,798 |
| 2006 | 8 | 2,509 |
| 2008 | 4 | 4,524 |
| 2010 | 5 | 4,012 |
| 2012 | 4 | 4,838 |
| 2014 | 3 | 5,691 |
| 2015 | 4 | 4,736 |
| 2016 | 5 | 4,096 |
| 2017 | 4 | 4,763 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4,686 |
| 2022 | 4 | 4,645 |
| 2023 | 3 | 5,687 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,891 |

## People named Darlene

- Darlene Love, American musician
- Darlene Hard, American tennis player (1936–2021)
- Darlene Conley, American actress (1934–2007)
- Darlene Cates, American actress (1947-2017)
- Darlene Zschech, Australian singer and pastor
- Darlene Vogel, American soap opera actor
- Darlene Hooley, American politician (born 1939)
- Darline Graham, American politician (born 1964)
- Yvonne Cagle, African American astronaut
- Linda Kasabian, American woman known for being a member of the Manson Family

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.