darren

Darren, Darin, Darrin












Name Nerds main

FOR REAL: Darren as a first name appeared in the 20th century, probably first as the stage name of William Lyle Richardson, better known as Darren McGavin. It was also used by singer Walden Robert Cassotto, better known as Bobby Darin. Legend has it that Darin got his stage name from a neon sign on a Chinese restaurant that was supposed to say "Mandarin" but the first three letters were burned out (another story is that he got it out a phone book). The final clincher in Darren's popularity was the character of Darrin Stevens on the 1960s tv show "Bewitched." As to Darren's origins, it may be an altered form of Daryl. Many name books list it as being from an obscure Irish surname; one that is so obscure I can't actually find mention of the actual name anywhere. It's likely that Darren was coined because D names were popular in that era (David, Dennis, Donald, Douglas) as were similar names like Jerry, Gary and Larry, and rhyming names like Sharon and Karen.

diminutives: Dare

related names: Daryl