Darling
- Gender
- Girl
- Say it
- DAR-ling
- Origin
- English
- US rank, 2025
- #3,295 for girls
Darling is a girls' name of English origin, meaning “beloved, little dear”. In 2025 it ranked 3,295th for girls in the US (47 babies).
What does Darling mean?
English: English word, from Old English deorling
“beloved, little dear”
Wendy Darling is the heroine of J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan.
Is Darling a girl's or a boy's name?
Darling is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 47 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.
How popular is Darling in the US?
- Rank in 2025
- 3,295th among girls
- Babies in 2025
- 47 about 1 in 34,000 girls
- Five-year trend
- Rising up 55% in five years
- Same name in a class
- under 1% chance among 15 girls
In 2025, 47 girls in the US were named Darling, making it the 3,295th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 4,004th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 47 girls. It first appears in the records in 1920.
Half of all the girls named Darling in the US since 1880 were born between 1983 and 2017, the years shaded on the chart below.
Darling in the US, year by year
| Year | Girls | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 47 | #3,295 |
| 2024 | 47 | #3,335 |
| 2023 | 33 | #4,274 |
| 2022 | 22 | #5,635 |
| 2021 | 28 | #4,715 |
| 2020 | 35 | #4,004 |
| 2019 | 27 | #4,908 |
| 2018 | 20 | #6,006 |
| 2017 | 25 | #5,189 |
| 2016 | 25 | #5,283 |
| 2015 | 22 | #5,831 |
| 2014 | 29 | #4,766 |
| 2013 | 24 | #5,484 |
| 2012 | 18 | #6,868 |
| 2011 | 21 | #6,145 |
| 2010 | 17 | #7,214 |
| 2009 | 17 | #7,338 |
| 2008 | 16 | #7,738 |
| 2007 | 21 | #6,319 |
| 2006 | 19 | #6,590 |
| 2005 | 12 | #8,878 |
| 2004 | 15 | #7,386 |
| 2003 | 12 | #8,500 |
| 2002 | 16 | #6,692 |
| 2001 | 11 | #8,751 |
| 2000 | 13 | #7,574 |
| 1999 | 7 | #11,378 |
| 1998 | 10 | #8,579 |
| 1997 | 12 | #7,278 |
| 1996 | 14 | #6,387 |
| 1995 | 16 | #5,672 |
| 1994 | 14 | #6,313 |
| 1993 | 10 | #8,045 |
| 1992 | 11 | #7,504 |
| 1991 | 14 | #6,247 |
| 1990 | 13 | #6,459 |
| 1989 | 11 | #6,949 |
| 1988 | 15 | #5,316 |
| 1987 | 6 | #9,820 |
| 1986 | 11 | #6,153 |
| 1985 | 8 | #7,560 |
| 1984 | 11 | #5,898 |
| 1983 | 9 | #6,703 |
| 1982 | 14 | #4,943 |
| 1981 | 13 | #5,253 |
| 1980 | 7 | #8,177 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,059 |
| 1978 | 0 | – |
| 1977 | 0 | – |
| 1976 | 0 | – |
| 1975 | 8 | #6,482 |
| 1974 | 0 | – |
| 1973 | 5 | #8,421 |
| 1972 | 6 | #7,290 |
| 1971 | 0 | – |
| 1970 | 6 | #7,069 |
| 1969 | 10 | #4,722 |
| 1968 | 7 | #5,641 |
| 1967 | 5 | #6,803 |
| 1966 | 9 | #4,492 |
| 1965 | 10 | #4,201 |
| 1964 | 11 | #4,095 |
| 1963 | 7 | #5,295 |
| 1962 | 10 | #4,262 |
| 1961 | 0 | – |
| 1960 | 0 | – |
| 1959 | 13 | #3,435 |
| 1958 | 8 | #4,519 |
| 1957 | 8 | #4,535 |
| 1956 | 5 | #5,951 |
| 1955 | 6 | #5,207 |
| 1954 | 5 | #5,751 |
| 1953 | 6 | #5,039 |
| 1952 | 0 | – |
| 1951 | 5 | #5,413 |
| 1950 | 0 | – |
| 1949 | 9 | #3,611 |
| 1948 | 12 | #2,973 |
| 1947 | 9 | #3,704 |
| 1946 | 0 | – |
| 1945 | 0 | – |
| 1944 | 0 | – |
| 1943 | 0 | – |
| 1942 | 0 | – |
| 1941 | 5 | #4,418 |
| 1940 | 0 | – |
| 1939 | 0 | – |
| 1938 | 0 | – |
| 1937 | 5 | #4,253 |
| 1936 | 5 | #4,179 |
| 1935 | 0 | – |
| 1934 | 0 | – |
| 1933 | 0 | – |
| 1932 | 0 | – |
| 1931 | 5 | #4,329 |
| 1930 | 0 | – |
| 1929 | 7 | #3,680 |
| 1928 | 0 | – |
| 1927 | 0 | – |
| 1926 | 0 | – |
| 1925 | 6 | #4,425 |
| 1924 | 0 | – |
| 1923 | 0 | – |
| 1922 | 0 | – |
| 1921 | 0 | – |
| 1920 | 7 | #3,955 |
Names like Darling
Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.
Riley, Sterling, Kinsley, Harper, Hadley, Scarlett, Blakely, Blessing, Briar, Londyn, Hayden, Haven
More English names
Lily, Evelyn, Hudson, Ivy, Grace, Violet, Willow, Daisy, Poppy, Oakley, Mason, Cooper, Ruby, Hallie, Hazel, Carter
Sources
Figures from Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.
To cite this page: Nameling, “Darling: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/darling, updated 20 October 2026.