I prefer
Darren. I know someone with this name and this spelling and so have positive associations with it. I know that he dislikes his name though again due to our associations with the name as teenagers. He wishes when he was younger he had thought to go with his middle name which is a very common name. He is however after more than two decades working in the same industry too well known as
Darren.
Don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from