Darien is an American name with two likely roots: it is used as a variant of Darian and so of Darius, the Persian royal name meaning "possessing goodness", and it echoes the Darién region of Panama, immortalized in Keats's line about Cortez on a peak in Darien. The name stood at number 556 in 2000, its best year this century, and has drifted down since, leaving the top 1000 well before 2015 and ranking 1436 in 2025.