Darren

[dar-uhn]

Darren a given name of uncertain etymological origins. The most popular theory is that it originated from a Gaelic surname meaning "great". Another is that it is an English version of the name Darryl, which originated from the French surname D'Airelle meaning "of Airelle."

There is a line of thought that in Old English, it could mean 'great rocky hill'. The Welsh word Tarren ("knoll, rock, tump") takes a soft mutation after feminine nouns to form darren and is a common element in Welsh place names (see External links at the bottom of the page for an example). However it probably has has no etymological connection with the given name Darren and it is not a native Welsh personal name.

Darren is the most popular spelling of many variants of the name, but was virtually unheard of before the late 1950s. The increasing popularity of this name may be due to the television show Bewitched which featured a character named Darrin. It may also be due to the popularity of the singer Bobby Darin in 1958. It is currently ranked at 342 in the USA.

In sports:

Darren Bennett, played both Australian Rules football and American football professionally
Darren Bent English professional footballer currently playing for Tottenham Hotspur
Darren Braithwaite, British sprinter
Darren Byfield, English professional footballer currently playing for Doncaster Rovers
Darren Campbell, retired English sprint athlete
Darren Collins, a professional footballer: Rushden and Diamonds all-time record goalscorer
Darren Clarke, Irish professional golfer.
Darren Currie, English professional footballer currently playing for Chesterfield
Darren Drozdov, retired professional wrestler who competed in the WWF from 1998 until 1999.
Darren Fletcher, Scottish professional footballer currently playing for Manchester United
Darren Gilford, Maltese athlete specializing in both the 100 metres and the 4x100 metre relay races
Darren Gough, English cricketer
Darren Huckerby, English professional footballer currently playing for San Jose Earthquakes
Darren Lockyer, Australian rugby league player
Darren Lange, freestyle swimmer from Australia
Darren Mackie Scottish professional footballer currently playing for Aberdeen
Darren Meade, American International Federation of Body Builders North American Middleweight Champion
Darren Pang, Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Blackhawks
Darren O'Dea, Irish footballer currently playing for Celtic
Darren Ritchie, Scottish long jumper
Darren Rumble, Canadian ice hockey defenseman
Darren Sharper, American football free safety who plays for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League
Darren Smith, Australian rugby league player
Darren Turcotte, retired professional ice hockey player
Darren Wilson, NBA bulls

In television, film and art:

Darren Aronofsky, American filmmaker
Darren Bennett (dancer), professional dancer
Darren Bett, weatherman for the BBC
Darren Boyd, British actor
Darren Day, English actor, singer, and television presenter
Darren Grant, American Film and Music Video Director
Darren Jordon, main newsreader on BBC 1
Darren McGavin, American actor
James Darren, American television and film actor, television director, and singer
Darren Osborne, character in British soap Hollyoaks
Darren Star, American television/film producer and screenwriter

In music:

DARREN, singer-songwriter
Darren Hayes, singer-songwriter, formerly of the group Savage Garden
Darren Jessee, drummer for the rock group Ben Folds Five
Darren Miller, former singer for the electronic group backandtotheleft
Darren Robinson (musician), guitarist and background singer in the Californian band Phantom Planet
Darren Robinson (rapper), member of the 80s rap group The Fat Boys
Darren Wilhite, Radio Personality- 2 Time CMA winner. Working in Kansas City on 106.5 The Wolf