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 fa ...

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

Anglicisation Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

of the Irish first name

Darragh Darragh \d(a)-rra-gh\ is a boys name of Irish origin. The name is derived from the Old Irish word ''daire'' (modern Irish ''doire''), which means ''oak''. Darragh is frequently used in Ireland as a masculine forename, though sometimes occurs as a ...

Dáire Dáire is an Old Irish name which fell out of use at an early period, remaining restricted essentially to legendary and ancestral figures, usually male. It has come back into fashion since the 18th century. The anglicised form of this name is Dar ...

, 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 Darrell is a given name derived from an English surname, which was derived from Norman-French , originally denoting one who came from Airelle in France. There are no longer any towns in France called Airelle, but is the French word for huckleberr ...

, which originated from the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

surname ''D'Airelle'', meaning "of Airelle". The common spelling of Darren is found in the

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

, meaning "edge": Black Darren and Red Darren are found on the eastern side of the

Hatterrall Ridge The Hatterrall Ridge (sometimes spelled Hatterall) is a ridge in the Black Mountains forming the border between Powys and Monmouthshire in Wales and Herefordshire in England. The ridge is about long, and is followed by the Offa's Dyke Path. O ...

, west of Long Town. In New Zealand, the

Darran Mountains The Darran Mountains are a prominent range within New Zealand's Fiordland National Park, the country's biggest national park. They contain the park's highest peak, Mount Tūtoko (). The range lies between Milford Sound (Piopiotahi) and the valle ...

exist as a spur of the

Southern Alps The Southern Alps (; officially Southern Alps / Kā Tiritiri o te Moana) is a mountain range extending along much of the length of New Zealand's South Island, reaching its greatest elevations near the range's western side. The name "Southern ...

in the south of the country. 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 Darren Robert Anderton (born 3 March 1972) is an English former professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was a midfielder who notably played in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Birmingham City. His twelve-year spell with ...

, English footballer * Darren Andrews (born 1995), American football player *

Darren Bennett (football player) Darren Bennett (born 9 January 1965) is a former Australian rules football player and American football punter in the National Football League. As an Australian rules footballer, he played for East Fremantle in the West Australian Football Lea ...

, Australian, played both Australian rules football and American football *

Darren Bent Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker. He played in the Premier League and Championship for nine clubs, and at senior international level for the England national team. ...

, English footballer *

Darren Braithwaite Darren Braithwaite (born 20 January 1969) is a retired British sprinter. Braithwaite was a member of the British team which set a world indoor record for the rarely contested 4×200 metres relay on 3 March 1991 in Glasgow. Braithwaite and his ...

, British sprinter *

Darren Bravo Darren Michael Bravo (born 6 February 1989) is a Trinidadian Cricketer who plays international cricket for the West Indies. A left-handed batsman, his batting style has drawn comparisons with Brian Lara. Bravo is the younger half brother of fel ...

, West Indian cricketer *

Darren Byfield Darren Asherton Byfield (born 29 September 1976) is a former professional footballer. He is currently a coach of Crawley Town. Byfield won six caps for Jamaica in 2003, and has scored 110 goals in 484 appearances across all domestic competitions ...

, English footballer *

Darren Campbell Darren Andrew Campbell, (born 12 September 1973) is a British former sprint athlete. He was the sprint coach at Wasps Rugby Club for the 2015–16 season. He competed in the 100 metres and 200 metres, as well as the 4 × 100 metres relay. ...

, English sprint athlete * Darren Collins (footballer born 1967), English footballer *

Darren Collison Darren Michael Collison (born August 23, 1987) is an American professional basketball player who is a free agent. Collison played four seasons of college basketball for the UCLA Bruins. He earned All-Pac-10 conference honors three times, and won ...

, American professional basketball player *

Darren Clarke Darren Christopher Clarke, (born 14 August 1968) is a professional golfer from Northern Ireland who currently plays on the PGA Tour Champions and has previously played on the European Tour and PGA Tour. He has won 21 tournaments worldwide on a ...

, Irish professional golfer *

Darren Currie Darren Paul Currie (born 29 November 1974) is an English former Association football, footballer who made over 600 appearances in The Football League. He is assistant head coach of Southend United F.C., Southend United. Club career Currie, who ...

, 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 Darren Keefe Daye (born November 30, 1960) is an American former professional basketball player. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, at a height of , and a weight of , he played as a shooting guard and small forward The small forward (SF), also known as ...

(born 1960), American basketball player *

Darren Drozdov Darren Adrian Drozdov (born April 7, 1969), professionally known as Droz, is an American essayist, former National Football League (NFL) football player and former professional wrestler who competed in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) from ...

, retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 until 1999. *

Darren Fells Darren Andre Fells (born April 22, 1986) is an American football tight end who is a free agent. He did not play college football, instead playing college basketball at the University of California, Irvine. Prior to his NFL career, he played prof ...

, American football player *

Darren Ferguson Darren Ferguson (born 9 February 1972) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Championship club Peterborough United. In between his stints with Peterborough, he also managed Preston N ...

, 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 the technical director of Manchester United, where he spent the majority of his playing career. He mostly played as a cent ...

, Scottish footballer *

Darren Flutie Darren Paul Flutie (born November 18, 1966) is a former Canadian football wide receiver for the BC Lions, Edmonton Eskimos, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. He is the Canadian Football League's fifth all-time leader in catches, behind Nik Lewis ...

, American football player *

Darren Gerard Darren Charles Gerard (born 17 April 1984) is a cricketer who represented Oxford University Cricket Club, Oxford University in matches against Cambridge University Cricket Club, Cambridge University in 2004 and 2006. Early and personal li ...

(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-da ...

, English cricketer * Darren Hall (disambiguation), multiple people *

Darren Huckerby Darren Carl Huckerby (born 23 April 1976) is an English football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, he was a forward who notably played in the Premier League for Newcastle United, Coventry City, Leeds United, Manchester Cit ...

, English former footballer *

Darren Hughes (English footballer) Darren John Hughes (born 6 October 1965) is an English former footballer. A left-back noted for his pace, he made 388 league and cup appearances for six clubs over a fourteen-year career in the English Football League. Starting his senior car ...

, English footballer *

Darren Hughes (Gaelic footballer) Darren Hughes is a Gaelic football player from County Monaghan, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. He plays at senior level for the Monaghan county football team, Monaghan county team. In 2011, Hughes was part of the Ireland international rules foot ...

, Irish Gaelic footballer * Darren Hughes (gridiron football), American football player *

Darren Jarman Darren Robert Jarman (born 28 January 1967) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club and Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL), and for the North Adelaide Football Club in the So ...

, Australian rules football player *

Darren Kelly Darren Kelly (born 30 June 1979) is a Northern Irish professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who played as a centre-back. He is the sporting director of club Newport County A.F.C., Newpor ...

(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 profes ...

, Australian rugby league player * Darren Lange, Australian freestyle swimmer *

Darren Mackie Darren Graham Mackie (born 5 January 1982) is a Scottish former footballer who, most recently, played for Inverurie Loco Works as a player/coach. Mackie was born in Inverurie, Aberdeenshire, Scotland and previously played as a striker for Abe ...

, Scottish footballer *

Darren Matthews Darren Kenneth Matthews (born 10 May 1968), better known by the ring name William Regal, is an English retired professional wrestler. He is known for his over 20 years spent in WWE, as both a performer and an on-screen authority, and for his ti ...

, best known as William Regal, English wrestler *

Darren McCarty Darren Douglas McCarty (born April 1, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward, best known for his years playing with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). McCarty has been known for taking on the role of th ...

, Canadian ice hockey player * Darren McCaughan, American baseball player *

Darren Murphy Darren Murphy (born 28 July 1985) is an Irish football manager and former footballer who played as a midfielder. Murphy started his playing career at Cobh Ramblers, progressing through the club's youth system before breaking into the first te ...

, Irish footballer * Darren Ng, China-Australian basketball player *

Darren O'Dea Darren O'Dea (born 4 February 1987) is an Irish retired professional football player, who is currently the coach of Celtic B team. O'Dea has played as a centre back for clubs in Scotland, England, Canada, Ukraine and India, and represented th ...

, Irish footballer *

Darren Pang Darren Robert Pang (born February 17, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his professional career with the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (1984–85 and 1987–89). He is currently the lead c ...

, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender *

Darren Purse Darren John Purse (born 14 February 1977) is an English former professional footballer who now coaches the Cardiff City U23s. A centre-back, he began his career at Leyton Orient, before winning a £100,000 move to Oxford United in July 1996. ...

, English footballer *

Darren Ritchie Darren Ritchie (born 1975) is a Scottish former long jumper. He was born in Edinburgh. He was a six-time Scottish long jump champion, and also won the triple jump in 2004. He also added two Scottish indoor titles in long jump. He was a three-ti ...

, Scottish long jumper *

Darren Rumble (ice hockey) Darren William Rumble (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadians, Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former professional ice hockey player. Rumble played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Ottawa Senators, St. Louis Blues and Tampa Bay Lightning o ...

, Canadian ice hockey player *

Darren Sharper Darren Mallory Sharper (born November 3, 1975) is an American convicted serial rapist and a former football safety who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons. He played college football at William & Mary and was selected ...

, American football free safety *

Darren Smith (rugby league) Darren Smith (born 8 December 1968) is an Australian former rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. He played for the Australian national side and also Queensland in the State of Origin. His club football career was spent wi ...

, Australian rugby league player *

Darren Sproles Darren Lee Sproles (born June 20, 1983) is an American football executive and former running back and return specialist who is a personnel consultant for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football a ...

, American football player *

Darren Till Darren Till (born 24 December 1992) is an English professional mixed martial artist and former Muay Thai fighter. He currently competes in the middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). As of December 13, 2022, he is #15 ...

, British mixed martial artist * Darren Turcotte, American ice hockey player *

Darren Waller Darren Charles Waller (born September 13, 1992) is an American football tight end for the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia Tech. He is the great-grandson of composer and jazz pianist ...

, American football player *

Darren Webster Darren Michael Webster (born 10 June 1968) is an English darts player nicknamed Demolition Man. Career Webster won the 2005 Open Oust Nederland, beating Co Stompé in the final. Originally nicknamed The Sniper, Webster reached the quarter-fina ...

, British darts player *

Darren Yewchyn Darren Yewchyn was a former Canadian football wide receiver who played two seasons with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. He played college football at the College of the Siskiyous. He was born in Windsor, Ontario ...

, Canadian football player *

Darren Young Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...

, ring name of American WWE wrestler Fred Rosser

Arts and entertainment

Darren Aronofsky Darren Aronofsky (born February 12, 1969) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. His films are noted for their surrealistic, melodramatic, and sometimes disturbing elements, often in the form of psychological fiction. Aronof ...

, American filmmaker *

Darren Barnet Darren Charles Barnet (born April 27, 1991) is an American actor. He is known for playing Paxton Hall-Yoshida in the Netflix series ''Never Have I Ever''. Early life and education Darren Charles Barnet was born on April 27, 1991, in Los Angele ...

, American actor *

Darren Bennett (dancer) Darren Lee Bennett (born 14 February 1977) is an English professional dancer. With his wife Lilia Kopylova he has a successful career in professional Latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the Sam ...

, British professional dancer *

Darren Bett Darren Victor Bett (born 1968 in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire) is an English weather forecaster for the BBC, broadcasting on television and radio. Bett is a main weather presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live and also appears on the BBC News Channel, BBC Wo ...

, British weatherman for the BBC *

Darren Boyd Darren John Boyd (born 30 January 1971) is a British actor who starred in the Sky 1 series ''Spy'', for which he won a BAFTA Award. His work in television and film spans comedy and drama. Early life Boyd began acting at age 17 in amateur theat ...

, British actor *

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...

, American actor and singer *

Darren Cullen (cartoonist) Darren Cullen (born 1983 in Leeds, England) is a British-Irish artist and activist whose artwork satirises topics ranging from the insidious nature of advertising, from the culpability of the "Santa lie" to armed forces recruitment propaganda. ...

, British satirical artist and writer *

Darren Dale Darren Dale is an Indigenous Australian film and television producer. Since joining Blackfella Films as a producer in 2001, he is co-director of the company, along with founder Rachel Perkins. Dale is known for co-producing many films and tel ...

, Australian filmmaker *

Darren Day Darren Day is an English actor, singer and television presenter, well known for his West End theatre starring roles. Early life Day's paternal grandfather was a support act to George Formby in the days of music hall. Day undertook drama classe ...

, English actor, singer, and television presenter *

Darren Espanto Darren Lyndon Espanto (born May 24, 2001) is a Filipino-Canadian singer, actor and director. Espanto is 1.88 cm tall. He first joined a competition at the age of ten, where he won the Masters Finals of the ''Pinoy Singing Sensation'' compet ...

, Filipino Canadian singer * Darren Farris, American singer/songwriter * Darren Floyd, British writer, painter and puppeteer *

Darren Grant Darren Grant is an American television, film and music video director. He has directed over eighty music videos for mostly R&B and hip hop artists. In 2005, Grant directed his debut film Tyler Perry's ''Diary of a Mad Black Woman''. In 2008, he ...

, American Film and Music Video Director *

Darren Hayes Darren Stanley Hayes (born 8 May 1972) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was the frontman and singer of the pop duo Savage Garden until their disbandment. Their 1997 album ''Savage Garden (Savage Garden album), Savage Garden'' peaked a ...

, Australian singer-songwriter, formerly of the group Savage Garden *

Darren Jessee Darren Michael Jessee is an American drummer and singer-songwriter best known as a member of the alternative rock trio Ben Folds Five. Jessee has also worked as an instrumentalist for Sharon Van Etten and Hiss Golden Messenger and released two ...

, American drummer for the rock group Ben Folds Five *

Darren Jordon Darren Jordon (born 23 November 1960 in London, England) is a British journalist working for the Al-Jazeera 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, Al Jazeera English. He is also a former officer of the Jamaica Defence Forc ...

, British journalist and newsreader *

Darren Kennedy Darren Kennedy (born 12 January 1981) is an Irish television presenter, entrepreneur, style expert and creative director from Dublin, Ireland now based between New York, Los Angeles and London. He has hosted television shows on Channel 5, BBC, ...

, Irish television presenter and entrepreneur based in London *

Darren Korb Darren Korb (born November 5, 1983) is an American songwriter, composer, and voice actor. Korb is best known for writing the music featured in '' Bastion'', ''Transistor'', ''Pyre'' and '' Hades'', all of which were developed by indie developer S ...

, American songwriter and composer *

Darren Leader Steel Panther is an American comedic glam metal band from Los Angeles, California. They are known for their profane and humorous lyrics as well as their exaggerated onstage pastiche of the stereotypical glam metal lifestyle. History Metal Sho ...

, stage name Stix Zadinia, American drummer for rock group Steel Panther *

Darren Lim Darren Lim (, born 30 September 1972) is a Singaporean actor and television host. He was prominently a full-time Mediacorp artiste from 1997 to 2016 but continues to film on an ad-hoc basis. Career Having left school at age 15, Lim began his ca ...

, Singaporean actor *

Darren McGavin Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...

, American actor * Darren Ockert, British singer-songwriter and producer based out of Miami *

Darren Robinson (rapper) Darren Robinson (June 10, 1967 – December 10, 1995), also known as Big Buff, Buff Love, Buffy, The Human Beat Box, The Ox That Rocks, and DJ Doctor Nice (among other aliases), was a rapper, beatboxer, and actor who was a member of the 1980 ...

, 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 Darren "Whackhead" Simpson (born 19 April 1977) is a comedian and radio presenter working for Primedia, a broadcasting company that owns the radio stations 947 and 94.5 Kfm in South Africa (among others). He presented the morning show, Breakfa ...

(born 1977), South African radio presenter *

Darren Star Darren Star (born July 25, 1961) is an American writer, director and producer of film and television. He is best known for creating the television series ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (1990–2000), ''Melrose Place'' (1992–1999), ''Sex and the City' ...

, American television/film producer and screenwriter *

Darren Styles Darren James Mew (born 23 May 1975), better known as Darren Styles, is an English record producer, DJ, singer and songwriter from Colchester, England. 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 Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

Darren Tate Darren Tate (born 22 October 1972, in London) is a British record producer, film composer and club DJ. Biography As a classically trained musician, Tate has worked with international artists and songwriters with whom he collaborates regularly. ...

, British trance music producer and DJ * Darren Wilson, American drummer of the Chicago-based indie-rock group The Hush South *

Darren Wills Darren is a masculine given name of uncertain etymological origins. Some theories state that it originated from an Anglicisation of the Irish first name Darragh or Dáire, meaning "Oak Tree". According to other sources, it is thought to come from ...

, British author and composer

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 Darren Colyn Hughes (born 3 April 1978) is a New Zealand former Member of Parliament between 2002 and 2011, first elected at the age of 24. He represented the New Zealand Labour Party, Labour Party and was a Minister outside Cabinet in the Fift ...

, New Zealand politician *

Darren Naish Darren William Naish is a British vertebrate palaeontologist, author and science communicator. As a researcher, he is best known for his work describing and reevaluating dinosaurs and other Mesozoic reptiles, including ''Eotyrannus'', ''Xenopos ...

, British vertebrate palaeontologist and science writer *

Darren Storsley Courage Productions runs the Miss BC pageant, including the Mrs. BC, Miss Teen BC, and Miss Charity BC titles. It was founded in Langley in 2002 by Darren Storsley. The final pageant night is televised by Shaw TV. The pageant has not been held ...

, founder of Top Teen of Canada *

Darren Kimura Darren T. Kimura (born September 10, 1974, Hilo, Hawaii) is an American businessman, inventor, and investor. He is best known as the inventor of Micro Concentrated solar power (CSP) technology otherwise known as MicroCSP. Life Kimura was born to ...

, American businessman, inventor and investor * Darren Deon Vann, American serial killer

Fictional characters

* Darren Agonistes Cross, supervillain 'Yellowjacket' from the Marvel comic series Marvel MCU Movie

Ant-Man Ant-Man is the name of several superheroes appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber and Jack Kirby, Ant-Man's first appearance was in ''Tales to Astonish'' #27 (January 1962) but first appeared in costum ...

* Darren Leadfoot, also known as Shiny Wax, a character in

Cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as t ...

Darren Osborne Darren Osborne is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. He was introduced by executive producer Phil Redmond as part of the Osborne family, making his first screen appearance on 18 November 1996, portrayed ...

, in British soap ''

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on ...

'' * Darren Woods, a character in the 1985 American science fantasy movie ''

Explorers Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

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

People

Sports

Arts and entertainment

Other professions

Fictional characters

See also

References

External links