Darryl

Where Darryl comes from

The dictionaries list Darryl as a given name — a male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Darrell — but don't trace where it came from. The record below is what the SSA data shows.

  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1902
    Darryl F. Zanuck born
    American film producer
  2. 1913
    First appearance
    #2,496 among boys, 6 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  3. 1961
    Darryl Jones born
    American bassist
  4. 1965
    Peak, #68
    4,925 babies named Darryl — more than any year before or since.
  5. 1968
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #140.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, variant of Darrell.
Namesakes
  • Darryl F. Zanuck · American film producer, 1902–1979
  • Darryl Jones · American bassist, born 1961
  • Darryl Hickman · American actor, 1931–2024
  • Darryl Powell · Jamaican footballer, born 1971
  • Darryl Dawkins · American basketball player-coach, 1957–2015

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.