Darren

I have a feeling that rather than being of Irish origin (how fashionable it seems to be to assign everything to an Irish origin) I think it might be Welsh. My mother grew up in South Wales, Abertillery/Ebbw Vale, and when I was born in 1961 she found Darren in a book of names and she liked the sound of it.

---

Looking at an ordnance survey map of the area my mum grew up in there are quite a few named geographical features in the hills around the towns with Darren in their name.

Although not etymologically related to Darren, "da ren" in Mandarin Chinese means "adult" (pronounced like dah-ren).

According to "Welsh Names for your Children: The Complete Guide" by Meic Stephens, Darren comes from the Welsh word 'tarren' meaning 'rock' or 'hill/knoll'.