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 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, Irish professional golfer *Darren Currie, English footballer *Darren Daulton, American baseball player *Darren Daye (born 1960), American basketball player *Darren Drozdov, retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 until 1999. *Darren Fells, American football player *Darren Ferguson, Scottish footballer and manager *Darren Fletcher, 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, English cricketer *Darren Hall (disambiguation), multiple people *Darren Huckerby, English former 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, 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 Waller, American football player *Darren Webster, British darts player *Darren Yewchyn, Canadian football player *Darren Young, ring name of American WWE wrestler Fred Rosser

Arts and entertainment

*Darren Aronofsky, 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, 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 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, British record producer, disc jockey and singer-songwriter from Colchester *Darren Tate, British trance music producer and DJ *Darren Wilson (musician), Darren Wilson, American drummer of the Chicago-based indie-rock group The Hush South *Darren Wills, British author and composer

Other professions

*Darren Chester, 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 Deon Vann, American serial killer

Fictional characters

*Darren_Cross, Darren Agonistes Cross, supervillain 'Yellowjacket' from the Marvel comic series Marvel MCU Movie Ant-Man_(film), Ant-Man *Darren Leadfoot, also known as Shiny Wax, a character in Cars (film), Cars *Darren Osborne, in British soap ''Hollyoaks'' * Darren Woods, a character in the 1985 American science fantasy movie ''Explorers (film)#Cast, Explorers''

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