Darin

A midcentury spelling variation of Darren, loosely rooted in Anglicized Irish surnames. Its American circulation took off in the late 1950s alongside the career of pop singer Bobby Darin, who plucked the stage surname from an illuminated restaurant sign. By the mid-1960s, the spelling was established as a mainstream given name across the United States.

The name suggests someone who grew up with three broadcast networks and station wagons with rear-facing third-row seats. It belongs firmly to the middle of the late twentieth century, with sixty percent of living bearers landing in Generation X. A Darin is easily pictured adjusting the tracking on a video cassette recorder or rewiring a garage stereo. He has spent most of his life spelling the final syllable out loud.