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Home › Baby Names Directory › Dardanella

Dardanella

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Dardanella

Pronounced dar-duh-NEL-uh /ˌdɑːr.dəˈnɛl.ə/Medium

Meaning: Dardanella comes from the enormously popular 1919 song 'Dardanella,' whose exotic-sounding title echoes the Dardanelles, the strait in Turkey. It is a song-inspired coinage rather than an inherited name; its meaning is the place and the melody it evokes rather than a dictionary word.Low

In 30 seconds: Dardanella is a name from the smash 1919 song 'Dardanella,' echoing the Dardanelles strait. It flared briefly in the early 1920s (said dar-duh-NEL-uh).
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Origin MediumEnglish
MeaningDardanella comes from the enormously popular 1919 song 'Dardanella,' whose exotic-sounding title echoes the Dardanelles, the strait in Turkey. It is a song-inspired coinage rather than an inherited name; its meaning is the place and the melody it evokes rather than a dictionary word.
U.S. rank (1924)#4577 ↘ Falling
1924 U.S. births6 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1920
Total births (all-time)≈ 50

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 192019201924

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Dardanella is one of the clearest song-names on the birth rolls: it appears only from about 1920, right after the 1919 novelty hit 'Dardanella' swept the country, and vanishes again within a few years. Its title nods to the Dardanelles strait. It was always vanishingly rare, given to only a handful of girls in total.

Because the name flared and faded with a single song, Dardanella is a small time capsule of the early jazz age. A girl given it in the early 1920s would have been named for the hit of the moment, much as later parents drew on popular tunes. It never returned once the song was forgotten.

Did you know? Dardanella owes its whole existence to a 1919 dance-band hit of that name - parents heard the tune, loved the sound, and put it on their daughters for a few years.
Overall data confidence 55%
References - Dardanella — From 1919 hit song 'Dardanella'; echoes Dardanelles strait

Variations

DardanelleDardania

Nicknames

DellaDardyNella

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Dardanella mean?

It is a song-inspired name from the 1919 hit 'Dardanella,' whose title echoes the Dardanelles strait in Turkey.

How do you pronounce Dardanella?

It's said dar-duh-NEL-uh /ˌdɑːr.dəˈnɛl.ə/, four syllables, stress on the third.

Is Dardanella a boy or girl name?

Dardanella is used as a girl's name.

How popular is Dardanella?

It has always been extremely rare, a song-name that flared for just a few years in the early nineteen-twenties.

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