How common is the surname Darnell?

17,915 people in the United States had the surname Darnell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,234 Americans. It ranked 2,016th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Darnell?

Linda Darnell, American actress (1923–1965), followed by Eric Darnell.

Where is the surname Darnell most common?

Wikidata records people named Darnell in the United States.

Is the surname Darnell getting more or less common?

More common. 17,775 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,915 in 2010, up 0.8%.

Is Darnell also a first name?

Yes. Darnell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Darnell

A surname, carried by 17,915 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex D654 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Darnell is more common than 98.8% of them.

Origin

English surname, from the noun darnel (“type of ryegrass”). Also a variant of Darnall. The given name is likely derived from the surname.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 17,915 people named Darnell in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 17,234 Americans. That is up 0.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 17,775.

#2,016

rank among US surnames

17,915

people in 2010

6.1

per 100,000 Americans

+0.8%

change since 2000 (was #1,859)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,007	Fernandes	18,018	17,135
#2,008	Abreu	17,998	17,154
#2,009	Doty	17,965	17,186
#2,010	Crum	17,944	17,206
#2,011	Yi	17,934	17,216
#2,012	Corley	17,931	17,219
#2,013	Flaherty	17,926	17,223

Who is named Darnell

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

88% of people named Darnell identified as white (not Hispanic), 7.3% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 88%
Black (not Hispanic) 7.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
Two or more races 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Darnells

4 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Linda Darnell
American actress (1923–1965)
Eric Darnell
American animator, director, screenwriter, songwriter, and occasional voice actor, born 1960
James E. Darnell
American biologist, born 1930
Logan Darnell
American baseball player, born 1989

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Darnell

Darnall

Darnell has the Soundex code D654, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code D654.

Questions

Where does the surname Darnell come from?: English surname, from the noun darnel (“type of ryegrass”). Also a variant of Darnall. The given name is likely derived from the surname.
How common is the surname Darnell?: 17,915 people in the United States had the surname Darnell in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 17,234 Americans. It ranked 2,016th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Darnell?: In the 2010 Census, 88% of people named Darnell identified as white (not Hispanic), and 7.3% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Darnell?: Linda Darnell, American actress (1923–1965), followed by Eric Darnell.
Where is the surname Darnell most common?: Wikidata records people named Darnell in the United States.
Is the surname Darnell getting more or less common?: More common. 17,775 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 17,915 in 2010, up 0.8%.
Is Darnell also a first name?: Yes. Darnell is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.