Darke Surname

115,063rd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 4,015 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
England
Highest density in:
England

Darke 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

Darke Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England1,4921:37,3454,873
United States6661:544,23345,071
Australia5811:46,4645,816
Ghana4851:55,7135,980
Canada1861:198,09519,415
India1441:5,326,843130,588
New Zealand1021:44,3957,335
South Africa901:601,97445,802
Wales631:49,1204,600
Sweden281:351,67024,678
France281:2,372,240182,981
Scotland281:191,20810,357
Papua New Guinea281:291,20439,406
Indonesia131:10,173,015372,576
Malaysia101:2,949,422111,742
Germany91:8,945,051266,530
Thailand71:10,091,192512,203
Northern Ireland61:307,50612,899
Russia61:24,020,509493,300
Brazil51:42,814,866547,158
Cameroon41:5,192,267135,173
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Hong Kong31:2,445,1619,595
Philippines31:33,746,074302,898
Niger21:9,596,00886,358
Nigeria21:88,571,379625,098
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
United Arab Emirates11:9,162,273135,437
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Costa Rica11:4,780,06913,345
China11:1,367,321,56651,149
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Syria11:19,301,02222,457
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Qatar11:2,357,99976,403
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Belgium11:11,496,644167,539
Isle of Man11:85,8224,091
Luxembourg11:580,54215,155
Laos11:6,588,3231,961
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England6751:36,1124,700
Wales231:68,1923,286
Scotland11:3,743,21632,299
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1401:358,70527,299

Darke (138) may also be a first name.

Darke 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

This name, which is not uncommon in the West of England, is probably identical with the De Arcis, of Domesday book. William d'Arques, or de Arcis, was lord of Folkestone, co. Kent, temp. William I., having Bettled in England after the Norman Conquest. His ancestors were vicomtes of Arques, now a bourg and castle, four or five miles from Dieppe in Normandy. Stapleton on the barony of William of Arques, in Canterbury Report of Brit. Archaeological Association, p. 166.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

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

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

Darke Last Name Facts

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

The surname Darke (Hindi: दारके, Marathi: दारके, Russian: Дарке) is more frequently found in England than any other country or territory. It may also be rendered in the variant forms:. For other potential spellings of this surname click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Darke? popularity and diffusion

This last name is the 115,063rd most frequently used last name globally. It is borne by approximately 1 in 1,815,080 people. The last name Darke occurs predominantly in Europe, where 42 percent of Darke reside; 40 percent reside in Northern Europe and 40 percent reside in British Isles. It is also the 787,636th most common first name at a global level. It is borne by 138 people.

The last name Darke is most commonly used in England, where it is borne by 1,492 people, or 1 in 37,345. In England it is most prevalent in: Devon, where 19 percent live, Greater London, where 13 percent live and Hampshire, where 8 percent live. Barring England Darke exists in 45 countries. It is also common in The United States, where 17 percent live and Australia, where 14 percent live.

Darke Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The incidence of Darke has changed over time. In England the number of people who held the Darke last name rose 221 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it rose 476 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it rose 274 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Scotland it rose 2,800 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Darke Last Name Statistics demography

In The United States those bearing the Darke last name are 8.14% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than The US average, with 54.91% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Darke earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 229.08% more than the national average, earning R 782,016 per year; in United States they earn 13.14% more than the national average, earning $48,819 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.86% more than the national average, earning $55,576 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Darkey913,729/
Darkeh91538/
Dharke91108/
Darkie9133/
Darkei914/
Darkee912/
Daarke911/
Darkep911/
Darcke910/
Dark8914,076/
Dairkee8338/
Darkeah8312/
Dharker8310/
Dharkey831/
Dearkeh831/
Darkihe831/
Dharkee831/
Darkque831/
Dearker830/
Darkett830/
Daarker830/
Darcker830/
Darce801,795/
Darka801,140/
Darki801,007/
Dorke80661/
Darck80526/
Derke80424/
Deark8068/
Darky8064/
Dhark8015/
Darkk8015/
D'Ark8010/
Darkh806/
Darkc804/
Darkp801/
Darrk801/
Daurk801/
Darık801/
Daark801/
Darqe801/
Dairk800/
Darque732,013/
Darche731,902/
Darkoa731,884/
Darcey731,515/
Dargue73868/
Darkoi73451/
Dearce73375/
Darkha73245/
Darkay73133/
Dorkey73124/
Dharki7371/
Dairek7337/
Dharka7332/
D'Arce7331/
Darkai7328/
Derkey7319/
Dorkhe7316/
Daurka7315/
Dorkeh7315/
Darkki7313/
Dahrki7313/
Darqeh7312/
Dhorke7311/
Dorked739/
Darkhi737/
Darcks737/
Darkht736/
Darcee735/
Darkui735/
Derkie734/
D'Arck733/
Dairki733/
Darcea733/
Derkei733/
Dorkee732/
Dehrke732/
Dearka732/
Darcei732/
Deirke731/
Darkiy731/
Darqeu731/
Doorke731/
Dourke731/
Darqee731/
Dohrke731/
Dearck731/
Dherke731/
Darcky731/
Darqes731/
Dearks730/
Darrce730/
Doerke730/
Darkquest710/
Darc6714,714/
Darquea671,925/
Darques67888/
Dorkhei67551/
Daharki67290/
Darkova67259/
Darg67244/
Darquey67124/
Darıcık67105/
Darcque6767/
Darquie6763/
D'arcey6753/
Darkaya6740/
D'Arche6739/
Darcheh6739/
Darq6736/
Darquet6735/
Darquez6734/
Darquee6726/
Darx6724/
Dorkhee6713/
Dork6711/
Dharqed675/
D'Arque674/
Daarkay673/
Darková673/
Darchei672/
Darrkis672/
Dàrk672/
Deurkee671/
Deirker671/
Darkich671/
Dorckey671/
Doorkee671/
Darqesh671/
Darksch671/
Daireck671/
Darquei671/
Darkhai671/
Darrcey670/
Dearcey670/
Dorkess670/

Darke Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Darke in the Hindi language
दारकेdarake-
Darke in the Marathi language
दारकेdarake70.45
दरकेdarake23.86
दकdaka3.41
डकdaka1.14
दाराकेdarake1.14
Darke in the Russian language
Даркеdarke-

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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 Darke
  • 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