Darren is a masculine

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an

Anglicisation Anglicisation or anglicization is a form of cultural assimilation whereby something non-English becomes assimilated into or influenced by the culture of England. It can be sociocultural, in which a non-English place adopts the English language ...

of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "oak tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from the Gaelic surname meaning "great", but is also linked to a Welsh mountain named Moel Darren. It is also believed to be a variant of Darrell, which originated from the French surname ''D'Airelle'', meaning "of Airelle". The common spelling of Darren is found in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh c ...

, meaning "edge": Black Darren and Red Darren are found on the eastern side of the Hatterrall Ridge, west of Long Town. In New Zealand, the Darran Mountains are in the south of the country. Bobby Darin 1959

The name increased in use for boys after American author Zane Grey used the name Daren Lane for the hero of his 1922 novel ''The Beast''; a number of American parents used the full name of the character, Daren Lane, as first and middle names for their sons. While the name is also in use as a surname, Grey might have coined the name for his character. Later, the name and its spelling variants increased in use in the 1960s and early 1970s due to various media influences including the popularity of actor Darren McGavin, actor and musician

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

, and the fictional character

Darrin Stephens This is a list of characters in ''Bewitched'', an American fantasy television sitcom which aired from 1964 to 1972. Cast Main Recurring Cast notes: Main characters Samantha Stephens Samantha Stephens (Elizabeth Montgomery) is a white witch ...

on the American television series '' Bewitched''. Darren has several spelling variations including Daren, Darin, Daryn, Darrin, Darran and Darryn. In the United Kingdom, its popularity peaked during the 1970s but declined sharply afterwards. In England and Wales, it first appeared in the early 1960s, ranking 66th in 1964, and had leapt to 15th by 1974, but fell to 33rd by 1984 and last appeared in the top 100 in 1994, when it ranked 100th.Top 100 Baby Names - Historical Series (Her Majesty's Stationery Office)

People

Sports

* Darren Anderton, English footballer * Darren Andrews (born 1995), American football player * Darren Bennett (football player), Australian, played both Australian rules football and American football * Darren Bent, English footballer * Darren Braithwaite, British sprinter * Darren Bravo, West Indian cricketer * Darren Beadman (born 1965), Australian champion jockey * Darren Byfield, English footballer * Darren Campbell, English sprint athlete * Darren Collins (footballer born 1967), English footballer * Darren Collison, American professional basketball player * Darren Clarke, Irish professional golfer * Darren Currie, English footballer *

Darren Daulton Darren Arthur Daulton (January 3, 1962 – August 6, 2017), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (, –) and Miami Marlins, Florida Marlins (199 ...

, American baseball player * Darren Daye (born 1960), American basketball player * Darren Drozdov (1969–2023), American professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 to 1999 * Darren Erman, American basketball coach * Darren Fells, American football player * Darren Fenn, American basketball player * Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager *

Darren Fletcher Darren Barr Fletcher (born 1 February 1984) is a Scottish football coach and former professional player who is currently serving as a first-team coach at Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career and won 13 trophies i ...

, Scottish footballer * Darren Flutie, American football player * Darren Gerard (born 1984), English cricketer * Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete specializing in both the 100 metres and the 4 × 100 metre relay races *

Darren Gough Darren Gough (born 18 September 1970) is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-d ...

, English cricketer * Darren Hall (disambiguation), multiple people * Darren Huckerby, English footballer * Darren Hughes (English footballer), English footballer * Darren Hughes (Gaelic footballer), Irish Gaelic footballer * Darren Hughes (gridiron football), American football player * Darren Jarman, Australian rules football player * Darren Kelly (born 1979), Northern Irish footballer *

Darren Lockyer Darren James Lockyer (born 24 March 1977) is an Australian television commentator and former professional rugby league footballer. Lockyer was an Australian international and Queensland State representative captain, who played his entire profe ...

, Australian rugby league player * Darren Lange, Australian freestyle swimmer * Darren Mackie, Scottish footballer * Darren Matthews, best known as William Regal, English wrestler * Darren McCarty, Canadian ice hockey player * Darren McCaughan, American baseball player * Darren Murphy, Irish footballer * Darren Ng, China-Australian basketball player * Darren O'Dea, Irish footballer * Darren Pang, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender * Darren Purse, English footballer * Darren Ritchie, Scottish long jumper * Darren Rumble (ice hockey), Canadian ice hockey player * Darren Sharper, American football free safety * Darren Smith (rugby league), Australian rugby league player * Darren Sproles, American football player * Darren Till, British mixed martial artist * Darren Turcotte, American ice hockey player * Darren Twombly (born 1965), American football player * Darren Waller, American football player * Darren Webster, British darts player * Darren Wood, English footballer * Darren Yewchyn, Canadian football player * Darren Young, ring name of American WWE wrestler Fred Rosser

Arts and entertainment

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker. His films are noted for their surreal, dramatic, and often disturbing elements, frequently in the form of psychological realism. His accolades include a Golden Lion ...

, American filmmaker * Darren Barnet, American actor * Darren Bennett (dancer), British professional dancer * Darren Bett, British weatherman for the BBC * Darren Boyd, British actor * Darren Criss, American actor and singer * Darren Cullen (cartoonist), British satirical artist and writer * Darren Dale, Australian filmmaker * Darren Day, English actor, singer, and television presenter * Darren Espanto, Filipino Canadian singer * Darren Farris, American singer/songwriter * Darren Floyd, British writer, painter and puppeteer * Darren Grant, American Film and Music Video Director *

Darren Hayes Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer, songwriter, music producer and composer. He was the singer of the pop duo Savage Garden from their 1993 establishment until their disbandment in 2001. Their 1997 album '' Savage Ga ...

, Australian singer-songwriter, formerly of the group Savage Garden * Darren Jessee, American drummer for the rock group Ben Folds Five * Darren Jordon, British journalist and newsreader * Darren Kennedy, Irish television presenter and entrepreneur based in London * Darren Korb, American songwriter and composer * Darren Leader, stage name Stix Zadinia, American drummer for rock group Steel Panther * Darren Lim, Singaporean actor * Darren McGavin, American actor * Darren McMullen, Scottish-Australian television and radio personality * Darren Ockert, British singer-songwriter and producer based out of Miami * Darren Robinson (rapper), American member of the 80s rap group The Fat Boys * Darren O'Shaughnessy, Irish writer and novelist, pen names Darren Shan and Darren Dash * Darren "Whackhead" Simpson (born 1977), South African radio presenter * Darren Star, American television/film producer and screenwriter *

Darren Styles Darren James Mew (born 23 May 1975), better known as Darren Styles, is an English music producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Clacton-On-Sea, Essex. Originally a member of the breakbeat hardcore group DJ Force & the Evolution, Styles found s ...

, British record producer, disc jockey and singer-songwriter from Colchester * Darren Tate, British trance music producer and DJ * Darren Watkins Jr., American YouTuber * Darren Wilson, American drummer of the Chicago-based indie-rock group The Hush South

Other professions

Darren Chester Darren Jeffrey Chester (born 13 September 1967) is an Australian politician. He has been a member of the House of Representatives for Gippsland in Victoria, representing the Nationals since 2008. Chester had served as the Minister for Veterans ...

, Australian politician * Darren Hughes, New Zealand politician * Darren Naish, British vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer * Darren Storsley, founder of Top Teen of Canada * Darren Kimura, American businessman, inventor and investor * Darren Thorne, American politician * Darren Deon Vann, American serial killer * Darren Woods, American businessman, CEO and chairman of ExxonMobil

Darrin

* Darrin Chappell, American politician * Darrin Hancock, American basketball player * Darrin Henson, American choreographer

Fictional characters

* Darren Agonistes Cross, supervillain 'Yellowjacket' from the Marvel comic series Marvel MCU movie ''Ant-Man'' * Darren Leadfoot, also known as Shiny Wax, a character in the 2006 movie ''Cars'' * Darren Lemming, main character in the play '' Take Me Out'' * Darren Osborne, in British soap ''Hollyoaks'' *

Darren Shan Darren O'Shaughnessy (; born 2 July 1972) is an Irish writer and novelist. He is best known for his young adult fiction series '' The Saga of Darren Shan'', '' The Demonata'', and '' Zom-B'', published under the pseudonym Darren Shan. The forme ...

, main character of ''The Saga of Darren Shan'' novel and manga series * Darren Woods, a character in the 1985 American science fantasy movie '' Explorers'' * Darren, a character first appeared in the episode " Something Big" of the animated series ''

Adventure Time ''Adventure Time'' is an American fantasy animated television series created by Pendleton Ward and co-produced by Frederator Studios for Cartoon Network. The series follows the adventures of a boy named Finn the Human, Finn (Jeremy Shada) and ...

'' * Darren, a character in the Millarworld comic book series '' Kingsman: The Red Diamond'' * Darren Thurrock, a character in the 2000 racing video game '' Midnight Club: Street Racing''

References

External links

BehindtheName - Origin and History of the Name Darren

Interesting Facts about the name Darren
{{given name Given names English masculine given names Masculine given names