Darla is an American name from the 20th century, formed from the English word darling and meaning "dear one" or "little darling". It was popularized by Darla Hood, the child actress of the Our Gang comedies in the 1930s, and later by the bossy girl in Finding Nemo. Darla was a top 300 name in the 1950s and 1960s, then faded; it has crept back from number 1794 in 2000 to number 941 in 2025, its first year in the top 1000 in this century.