Durrell is a unique and distinctive given name of English origin. Its meaning and history are not as widely known or agreed upon as many other names.
One theory suggests that Durrell may have originated as an occupational surname for someone who worked with leather or tanned hides, derived from the Middle English word 'turerel' which means 'to tan'. However, there is no concrete evidence to support this theory.
Another possibility is that Durrell was a name brought over by Norman settlers during the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. Some believe it may have been derived from the Old French given name 'Durell', which is thought to mean 'durable' or 'strong'.
Despite its unclear origins, there are some notable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Durrell. One such person was Lawrence Durrell, a prominent British novelist and poet born in 1912. He is best known for his Alexandria Quartet series of novels set in Egypt during World War II.
In popular culture, the name Durrell has gained some recognition through its use as the surname of the four Durrell siblings in Gerald Durrell's semi-autobiographical Corfu trilogy of books. The most famous of these works is "My Family and Other Animals," which follows the adventures of the eccentric Durrell family on their island home of Corfu.
Today, while still relatively rare, the name Durrell has been used as a given name for boys in various English-speaking countries. It offers parents who choose this name an opportunity to give their child a distinctive and intriguing moniker with a hint of mystery behind its origins.
Based on the statistics provided, we can observe several trends regarding the name Durrell in the United States over the past century.
From 1914 to 1962, the number of newborns named Durrell fluctuated between a low of 5 births in 1937 and a high of 18 births in 1964. During this period, the name's popularity seemed to peak during the mid-1960s with three consecutive years (1964, 1966, and 1967) where 18 babies were named Durrell each year.
However, from 1963 onwards, we see a significant increase in the number of births for this name. In 1978, there were 28 newborns named Durrell, marking a substantial jump from previous years. This trend continued into the late 1980s, with 149 births recorded in 1985 and 124 births in 1986.
After reaching its peak popularity in the mid-1980s, the name Durrell experienced a gradual decline in usage over time. By the early 1990s, fewer than 50 babies were named Durrell annually. This downward trend persisted until the early 2000s when there was another brief spike in popularity, with 40 births recorded in 2008 and 31 births in 2009.
Since then, the number of newborns named Durrell has continued to decrease steadily. In recent years (2017-2023), fewer than 20 babies have been named Durrell each year on average, indicating that this name is no longer widely popular in the United States today.
In total, over the past century, there have been 1897 newborns named Durrell in the United States. Despite its fluctuations in popularity, this unique and distinctive name has been given to a significant number of babies across several generations.