Dark Surname

37,400th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 14,076 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Tuvalu

Dark Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. D'Arques, from Arques, now a bourg and castle four miles from Dieppe. Probably the De Arcis of Domesday (v. Lower). Nevertheless it is far more natural to consider it a nickname from the dark complexion of the bearer, and add it to the already formidable list of colour-names; compare Brown, White, &c.

Read More About This Surname

Dark Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States3,1521:114,99312,433
England1,5401:36,1814,745
Egypt1,4641:62,7985,897
Bangladesh1,3521:117,8674,824
Saudi Arabia1,2321:25,0453,507
Brazil1,1291:189,6147,310
Australia1,1141:24,2333,323
Morocco4091:84,29414,399
Ghana3461:78,0947,799
Wales2581:11,9941,331
Turkey2531:307,59520,037
Canada1951:188,95218,643
Portugal1321:78,9263,983
New Zealand951:47,6677,746
India901:8,522,949175,347
Kuwait871:43,6865,304
Iran761:1,010,29646,499
France751:885,636103,228
Bahrain731:18,4743,432
Mexico711:1,748,25617,580
Hong Kong561:130,9912,371
South Africa491:1,105,66765,349
Iraq471:745,14210,632
Afghanistan411:784,2248,247
China391:35,059,5271,855
United Arab Emirates341:269,47919,099
Colombia311:1,541,09910,974
Dominican Republic311:336,54611,471
Indonesia301:4,408,306217,989
Northern Ireland281:65,8944,901
Singapore261:211,83510,313
Germany251:3,220,218147,383
Scotland251:214,15311,205
Spain251:1,870,08151,392
Netherlands241:703,63256,027
Vietnam211:4,411,7172,377
Italy201:3,057,83499,174
Mongolia191:148,6998,761
Thailand171:4,155,197336,594
Libya161:390,2481,390
South Sudan161:713,442947
Syria141:1,378,6447,647
Philippines131:7,787,556197,164
Estonia121:110,15019,471
Oman121:307,3314,704
Israel111:777,96750,646
Lebanon101:563,70813,499
Angola91:2,998,8024,903
Finland91:610,74534,002
Malaysia91:3,277,136121,952
Myanmar91:5,770,887975
Qatar91:262,00030,726
Tunisia91:67,8478,246
Romania81:2,509,73455,065
Belgium71:1,642,37898,400
Jordan71:1,263,20516,935
Poland71:5,429,821146,768
Guatemala61:2,680,4456,792
Peru61:5,297,35436,458
South Korea61:8,540,0431,433
Trinidad and Tobago61:227,32910,175
Ukraine61:7,587,116277,111
Jersey51:19,8403,614
Kenya51:9,235,98055,978
Pakistan51:35,728,777102,388
Switzerland51:1,642,58387,307
Argentina41:10,685,854219,200
Costa Rica41:1,195,0176,919
Japan41:31,961,07353,820
Papua New Guinea41:2,038,429140,827
Uzbekistan41:7,732,28643,643
Yemen41:6,606,32425,896
Bahamas31:130,5841,472
Cambodia31:5,162,38210,688
El Salvador31:2,114,6295,401
Kazakhstan31:5,894,165166,702
Nepal31:9,493,65216,132
Nigeria31:59,047,586507,603
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Algeria21:19,315,77697,017
Azerbaijan21:4,824,56142,415
Belize21:177,7373,502
Bolivia21:5,308,21712,400
Bulgaria21:3,489,45264,958
Cameroon21:10,384,534165,830
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
Georgia21:1,872,77235,618
Iceland21:190,0456,825
Jamaica21:1,434,97411,081
Mauritius21:646,70813,517
Serbia21:3,572,47432,645
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Tanzania21:26,470,806111,653
Uganda21:19,519,640189,114
Venezuela21:15,102,03869,873
Albania11:2,914,05529,474
American Samoa11:55,7583,072
Armenia11:2,930,18022,770
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Barbados11:287,4482,772
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Bhutan11:616,0391,715
Croatia11:4,228,60499,289
Cuba11:11,522,71617,380
Czechia11:10,633,469206,023
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Fiji11:894,3914,568
French Polynesia11:280,8057,211
Greece11:11,079,790145,225
Liberia11:4,408,53547,110
Lithuania11:3,034,58847,401
Maldives11:404,1727,269
Moldova11:3,561,36878,271
Mozambique11:27,261,5697,432
Nicaragua11:6,021,0908,768
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Paraguay11:7,236,74616,511
Puerto Rico11:3,550,1399,109
Seychelles11:92,3931,532
Slovenia11:2,487,67531,128
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Suriname11:552,6169,664
Taiwan11:23,444,74693,622
Tuvalu11:11,188103
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,0581:23,0393,215
Wales281:56,0152,800
Scotland271:138,6386,001
Guernsey11:32,6562,283
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5921:84,8298,842

The alternate forms: Dàrk (2) are calculated separately.

Dark (6,225) may also be a first name.

Dark Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. D'Arques, from Arques, now a bourg and castle four miles from Dieppe. Probably the De Arcis of Domesday (v. Lower). Nevertheless it is far more natural to consider it a nickname from the dark complexion of the bearer, and add it to the already formidable list of colour-names; compare Brown, White, &c. Middle English derk, dark.

John Derke, Norfolk, 1273. Hundred Rolls.

John Derk, Cambridgeshire, ibid.

Thomis Derk, rector of Burnham Westgate, Norfolk, 1344: History of Norfolk.

Nicholas Darke, 1534: Register of the University of Oxford.

1579. John Darke and Margaret Eppe: Marriage Lic (London).

1789. Married — John Obee and Charlotte Dark: St. George, Hanover Square.

Looking at the above references it must be clear that mine is the only satisfactory derivation.

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(English) Swarthy [Middle English derk, Old English deorc] John Derk.—Hundred Rolls (French-Latin) the French D' Arc = Of Arc [French arc, an arched structure; Latin arc-us] Cp. Darch.

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Properly D'Arques. From Arques, a comm, and town of France, dep. Seine-Inf., on the Arques. Lower says William D'Arques or de Arcis was lord of Folkestone co. Kent, temp. William I., having settled in England after the Norman Conquest, and that his ancestors were vicomtes of Arques, now a bourg and castle four or five miles from Dieppe in Normandy.

Ludus Patronymicus (1868) by Richard Stephen Charnock

Dark: is from D’Arques in Normandy.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

William d'Arques, lord of Folkestone, who came to England with the Conqueror, may, according to Lower, have given rise to the Kentish name of Dark.

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

Dark Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Dark Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Dark (Hindi: डाआरके, Marathi: दरक) is more commonly found in The United States than any other country or territory. It may be found as: Dàrk. Click here for other potential spellings of Dark.

How Common Is The Last Name Dark? popularity and diffusion

Dark is the 37,400th most frequently held surname internationally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 517,728 people. The last name Dark is primarily found in The Americas, where 33 percent of Dark are found; 24 percent are found in North America and 24 percent are found in Anglo-North America. It is also the 83,677th most commonly occurring given name internationally. It is borne by 6,225 people.

This surname is most commonly used in The United States, where it is held by 3,152 people, or 1 in 114,993. In The United States it is most common in: North Carolina, where 11 percent live, Texas, where 11 percent live and California, where 10 percent live. Excluding The United States Dark exists in 125 countries. It also occurs in England, where 11 percent live and Egypt, where 10 percent live.

Dark Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The prevalency of Dark has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Dark surname rose 532 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 146 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it rose 921 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it decreased 7 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Dark Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Dark last name are 12.64% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 59.41% being registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Dark earn in different countries varies significantly. In South Africa they earn 31.29% more than the national average, earning R 312,000 per year; in United States they earn 3.39% less than the national average, earning $41,686 USD per year and in Canada they earn 5.29% more than the national average, earning $52,309 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Dàrk922/
Darke894,015/
Darck89526/
Deark8968/
Dhark8915/
Darkk8915/
D'Ark8910/
Darkh896/
Darkc894/
Darkp891/
Darrk891/
Daurk891/
Darık891/
Daark891/
Dairk890/
Dharke80108/
Dairek8037/
Darcks807/
Darkht806/
D'Arck803/
Dearck801/
Daarke801/
Darcke800/
Dearks800/
Darc7514,714/
Derk75917/
Dörk75286/
Darg75244/
Darq7536/
Darx7524/
Dork7511/
Darkova73259/
Darıcık73105/
Darková733/
Darksch731/
Daireck731/
Darkque731/
Dorke67661/
Derck67606/
Darcq67564/
Doerk67387/
D'arc67136/
Dargh67114/
Dorkh6773/
Dörks6751/
D'Arx6739/
Dharg6719/
Duirk6712/
Dargz677/
Dárek674/
Dar'c673/
Dearg672/
Dourk672/
Dharkova672/
Darcc672/
Dharq672/
Dörkő671/
Deerk671/
Darqe671/
Darrc671/
Darrq671/
Dearc671/
Dargg671/
Darhg671/
Dörck671/
Dorck671/
Dâarc671/
Darhc671/
Dahrq671/
Deirk670/
Duork670/

Dark Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Dark in the Hindi language
डाआरकेda'arake85.71
डर्कdarka14.29
Dark in the Marathi language
दरकdaraka50
डरकdaraka50

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Dark
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis