What does the name Darien mean?
I was born in at Cherry Lawn School (now Cherry Lawn Park and Nature Center) in Darien (pronounced “Dairy-Ann”), CT. I was a curious kid, and asked several times (at least) what “Darien” meant. Here’s what I remember: In the late 1400s and/or very early 1500s, Spaniards and/or an Italian named Amerigo discovered both coasts (Atlantic and Pacific) of the place now known as Darien, Panama. This is currently the location of the only remaining gap in the unfulfilled Pan American Highway. The Spaniards called the original indigenous tribe “El Darien” (derivation unknown). The tribe was decimated by disease; the Spaniards erected a church, and founded the settlement of Darien in 1510 (not necessarily in that order). Thus, Darien in Central America was probably the first permanent European settlement in the Americas (excluding Greenland). Darien was part of Columbia until the 1000 Day War at the beginning of the 20th century. A local tribe of another name is sometimes called “Darien” by some,
