Darnell
An English surname with disputed roots, often linked either to a place-name or to an old word for the weed darnel.
The #2,016 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 17,234 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Darnell has several plausible explanations in older surname literature, and no single derivation is certain. One line of interpretation treats it as a locational name, perhaps connected with a place or local pronunciation such as Darnton or a related Yorkshire name. Another connects it with the plant name darnel, the weed ryegrass, which appears in older English usage and was sometimes treated as a descriptive or emblematic surname source.
History
The name is found in English records by the early modern period, and later surname writers discussed it alongside other names that may have been shortened from older Germanic personal names. Some 19th-century authors also grouped Darnell with names they thought might ultimately be nickname-like or diminutive forms, but the evidence is not strong enough for certainty. In modern use it is established as an English-language surname, and in the United States it is moderately uncommon but well attested.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older writers sometimes connected Darnell with darnel, a weed once believed to have intoxicating effects if mixed with grain.
From the historical record
“Darnell : St. Geo. Han. Sq. L a6. 1744. « Robert Bryan and Hannah Darnel : Sl Jas. Clerkenwell, iii. 27^. 1785. — James Thornton and Mary”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (alternate scan)