Darek
Darek is a name with a single cultural origin: Polish.
- Polish
Meaning & Origin of Darek
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Darek is a name with a single cultural origin: Polish.
Origin data from Behind the Name .
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- Polish
The Story of Darek
Darek first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1957, with 6 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1973: 53 births, good for #1,123 nationwide. About 20% of every Darek on record arrived during the 1980s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Darek ranks #2,855 for baby boys with 44 births, rising sharply (+193% over the past five years). All told, over 2K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1950s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Darek
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Darek. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Darek
Phonetically similar names — useful when Darek is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Darek
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About the name Darek
Darek is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1957 and has accumulated 2K births in the dataset. Darek's peak popularity came in 1973 when it ranked #1,123. Use the chart and map above to compare Darek's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1973 →
- Names of the 1970s →
- Names starting with "D" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.