Darnell is a unisex

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 ...

and

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called

Darnel ''Lolium temulentum'', typically known as darnel, poison darnel, darnel ryegrass or cockle, is an annual plant of the genus ''Lolium'' within the family Poaceae. The plant stem can grow up to one meter tall, with inflorescence in the ears and pur ...

, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean climates making it likely people with the Darnell surname have Southern French heritage. In other cases, people with the surname may have English heritage depending on the past spelling. It may refer to one of the following people:

Given name

Darnell

Darnell Bing Darnell Bing (born September 10, 1984) is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the fourth round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at Southern California. Bing has also been a member of t ...

(born 1984), American footballer * Darnell Bristol, songwriter and former member of The Deele *

Darnell Clash Darnell Clash (born June 18, 1962) is a former American football defensive back who played four seasons in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the BC Lions and Toronto Argonauts. He played college football at the University of Wyoming. Coll ...

(born 1962), American football player * Darnell Coles (born 1962), American baseball player,

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

* Darnell Dinkins (born 1977), American footballer *

Darnell Dockett Darnell Maurice Dockett (born May 27, 1981) is a former American football defensive end who had a ten-season career playing for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cardinals in the third round of th ...

(born 1981), American footballer *

Darnell Hillman Darnell "Dr. Dunk" Hillman (born August 29, 1949) is a former professional basketball player. Hillman graduated from Hiram W. Johnson High School. The 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) forward played college basketball at San Jose State University. Hill ...

(born 1949), American basketball player * Darnell Hunt (born 1962), American sociologist * Darnell Johnson (born 1998), English football (soccer) player * Darnell King (born 1990), American soccer player * Darnell Martin (born 1964), African-American film director *

Darnell McDonald Darnell is a unisex given name and surname. The surname refers to a group of people in medieval ages who grew a plant called Darnel, which had intoxicatory properties. The last name originated in France, the plant can only grow in Mediterranean cli ...

(born 1978), American baseball player *

Darnell Mooney Darnell Mooney (born October 29, 1997) is an American football wide receiver for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulane. High School career Darnell Mooney went to Gadsden City High Scho ...

(born 1997), American football player *

Darnell Nurse Darnell Nurse (born February 4, 1995) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and alternate captain for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nurse was selected by the Oilers seventh overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Dr ...

(born 1995), Canadian ice hockey player * Darnell Savage (born 1997), American football player * Darnell Swallow, a contestant on the 2008 series of ''Big Brother'' (UK) * Darnell Valentine (born 1959), American basketball player * Darnell Williams (born 1955), American actor *

Darnell Wilson Darnell Wilson (born September 22, 1974) is an American boxer. He challenged once for the WBA World Cruiserweight title in 2008. He is perhaps best remembered for his brutal left-hook knockouts of Emmanuel Nwodo and David Rodriguez. Backgro ...

(born 1974), American boxer

Darnelle

* Darnelle Bailey-King (born 1997), English footballer

As a surname

Billy Darnell Billy Darnell (February 25, 1926 – September 7, 2007) was an American professional wrestler and major star of the 1940s and 1950s, with his career spanning over twenty years with championships in the National Wrestling Alliance and World Wi ...

(1926-2007), American professional wrestler *

Bruce Darnell Bruce Darnell (born July 19, 1957) is an American choreographer, model and television personality based in Germany. Darnell was born and grew up in Colorado. After studying sociology, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and served six years as a par ...

(born 1957), American model and choreographer *

Eric Darnell Eric Darnell (born August 21, 1961) is an American animator, storyboard artist, director, screenwriter, songwriter and occasional voice actor best known for co-directing '' Antz'' with Tim Johnson, as well as co-directing and co-writing ''Mada ...

(born 1961), American film director * Erik Darnell (born 1982), American stock car racing driver * Gary Darnell (born 1948), American College football player and coach * James E. Darnell, American biologist * Jean Darnell (1889-1961), American silent film actress * Larry Darnell (1928-1983), American singer * Linda Darnell (1923-1965), American film actress *

Mike Darnell Michael H. Darnell (born 1962) is an American television executive and former child actor. He is currently the president of unscripted and alternative television at Warner Bros. He spent nearly 19 years at the FOX network as president of altern ...

(born 1962), American television executive * Nicholas Henry Darnell (1807-1885), American politician *

Regna Darnell Regna Darnell (born July 10, 1943, Cleveland, Ohio) is an American-Canadian anthropologist and professor of Anthropology and First Nations Studies at the University of Western Ontario, where she has founded the First Nations Studies Program. Ov ...

(born 1943), American-Canadian anthropologist and professor * Riley Darnell (born 1940), American politician, Secretary of State for the state of Tennessee * Robert Darnell (born 1957), American biologist and President of the New York Genome Center

Fictional characters

* Darnell Turner, a character from the American television show

My Name Is Earl ''My Name Is Earl'' is an American television sitcom created by Greg Garcia that aired on the NBC television network from September 20, 2005, to May 14, 2009, in the United States. It was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and starred Ja ...

, played by Eddie Steeples * Darnelle, a character from the 2005 film '' Beauty Shop'', played by Keshia Knight Pulliam * Darnelle, a character from the '' Xena: Warrior Princess'' episode, "The Dirty Half Dozen", played by

Charles Mesure Charles William David Mesure (born 12 August 1970) is an English Australian actor known for his work in Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America. Birth and education Mesure was born in Somerset, England. When he was five, his fam ...

*Darnell, a

Newgrounds Newgrounds is an entertainment website and company founded by Tom Fulp in 1995. It hosts user-generated content such as games, films, audio, and artwork. Fulp produces in-house content at the headquarters and offices in Glenside, Pennsylvania. ...

character created by Tom Fulp.

Places

Darnell may also refer to; * Darnell, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Darnell Town, Virginia, a community in the United States {{surname Given names English given names English-language unisex given names