Daryl and Merle lived within the mountains of North Georgia, under the roof of their neglectful parents; their father being an alcoholic and abusive and their mother being both that and a chain-smoker. When Daryl was old enough to ride a bicycle, they lost their mother to a house fire that had been caused by her cigarette when she was asleep (or possibly drunk in bed). Merle was at least 12 years old when their mother died, as he was in juvenile detention at the time. Merle raised Daryl to share his beliefs and be tough like a grown man. However, he too was often absent from Daryl's life; part of that had to do with the fact that he was frequently in juvenile institutions. This led to Daryl having to frequently fend for himself. Once, after their mother's death, but before Daryl reached age 12, he got lost in the woods for nine full days and lived off of wild berries and used poison oak as a substitute for toilet paper. Merle was again in juvenile detention (Higher than 19 years old). When Daryl managed to find his way home, his father had not noticed his absence. He walked in through the back door and then made himself a sandwich.

It was revealed in "Home" that both Daryl and Merle were physically abused by their father, causing Merle to abandon the family. Merle claimed to never know that his father was hurting Daryl too, but Daryl does not seem to believe him.

When the apocalypse began, he and Merle headed towards Atlanta (a declared safe-zone) for shelter. Along the way, they both met up with Shane's group and found out Atlanta was overrun. They helped set up camp near a quarry. During their stay at the camp, they spent a considerable amount of time hunting animals. According to Merle, they had planned to rob the camp dry before Merle was left in Atlanta.

Daryl owned a grey 1973 Ford F-250 pickup truck. He used it to transport the corpses of the fallen camp-survivors, such as Ed Peletier and Amy, to the graveyard made by Jim. When the group left for the CDC. Daryl was driving his truck with his brother's motorcycle in the back. When his truck ran out of gas, he put his belongings in one of the other vehicles, (possibly Dale's RV) and switches vehicles to his brother's motorcycle. His truck is then abandoned and is never seen again in the show. The motorcycle is still in use by Daryl.

■Daryl's signature weapon is the Horton Scout 125 HD Crossbow. In Season 3, he switched to the 380 Stryker crossbow, which was retrieved from Morgan's stash. He can be seen with it in the sneak peek for "Arrow on the Doorpost". Originally, this new crossbow was planned on being introduced in Season 4.

■Daryl drives his brother Merle's motorcycle and keeps Merle's stash of drugs (both legal and illegal) in case they are needed.
■In the episode "Chupacabra," it is stated that Daryl was raised by Merle to share his beliefs. According to Michael Rooker in The Talking Dead, his appearance for Merle in the episode was as Daryl's subconscious stating his true beliefs
■Daryl does appear to have some prejudices, though nowhere near as many as Merle. For example, he called Glenn "Short Round," after the Korean character from Indiana Jones, due to Glenn's race.

■He is also very resourceful and appears to be willing to use anything at his disposal to survive. For example, in Season 2, he ate a raw squirrel to appease his hunger while he struggled to escape from the ravine he fell into. He also fashioned a tourniquet out of his clothing to help support the bolt that had pierced his abdominal area, and when being attacked by two zombies he efficiently removed the bolt piercing his side and used it to dispatch one of the attacking walkers. He also created more bolts from wood to replace the lost ones.
■Daryl is an expert hunter, with knowledge in tracking as seen when they are searching for Sophia. He was able to track fading footprints and had amazing accuracy. He has also proven to be an apt tracker in the dark, as seen in "Better Angels," where all he needed was a flashlight.
■Daryl is one of three people to fall victim to friendly fire, the first being Carl, and the second being Otis.
■Daryl is the second person to receive medical care from Hershel Greene, the first being Carl Grimes after he was accidentally shot by Otis, the third being Randall after his leg was impaled on a railing spike, the fourth being his daughter Beth after she tried to commit suicide, and the fifth being Michonne after being shot in the thigh by Merle.
■Daryl is the fourth person to kill a living character, the others being Shane, Rick, and Hershel.
■In The Talking Dead, following the episode "Judge, Jury, Executioner," director Greg Nicotero admits he had planned the final scene between Daryl and Randall, showing the latter bound and gagged, appear as though Daryl was about to stab the young man himself. This was cut down as the attack on Dale caused Daryl to leave Randall tied up in the barn so that he could check on his friend.
■His maturity is expanded after the fate of Sophia is revealed. This is shown best when he steps up to the role of a suffering Dale's executioner when Rick could not. ■This made him the titular role of Executioner of Randall's fate, while Rick was the Judge and the group was the jury.

■With Shane and T-Dog's deaths, Daryl has completely filled the role of Rick's right-hand man, similarly to how Tyreese did in the Comic Series.
■Daryl stars in the new Video Game by Terminal Reality. The game serves as a prequel to the show and shows his backstory.
■The motorcycle that Daryl drives around bears the German Waffen SS logo.
■Both Daryl and Mark wear a jacket with angel wings, and both have been pierced by an arrow.
■Daryl seems to be generally good with babies as he was the only one who could calm down Judith after crying all day.
■Daryl is the first archer introduced in the TV Series and the only one from the Atlanta survivors. The others, Shupert and Haley, were introduced in Woodbury.
■Daryl appears to have knowledge of Native American culture and history, as he has knowledge concerning the Cherokee Rose that he gave to Carol and the flower's past.
■Despite the fact that Merle and Daryl have been in every season so far (up to season 3), as well as the fact they are brothers, the first time they are actually seen together in person is in the 8th episode of Season 3, "Made to Suffer." They appear together in Season 2's "Chupacabra," but as a hallucination dreamt up by Daryl.
■Daryl is the only person to survive a gunshot to the head in the TV Series, along with Chase in the Webisodes and Andrea and Carl in the Comic Series.
■Daryl won IGN's "Best TV Hero" of 2012. [1]
■It is revealed in the episode "Home" that both Daryl and Merle have had traumatic childhoods and were both abused by their father.
■Norman Reedus mentioned that he had originally asked for Daryl to have a dog in Season 3, but his request was denied by Glen Mazzara. However, he was granted a new crossbow instead. [2]
■Like his brother, Daryl calls others with the names he makes up for himself.
■Glenn Rhee (Chinaman, Short-round)
■Lori Grimes (Olive Oyl)
■Judith Grimes (Little a** Kicker)
■Michonne (The Last Samurai)
■Milton Mamet (Butler)
■Dale Horvath (Old Man)
■Jim (Jimbo)
■Jimmy (Jackass)
■Caesar Martinez (Douchebag)

■Daryl is seen to be very proficient with most types of weapons, genuine or contemporary.
■A great example is in the episode "Arrow on the Doorpost", when he shows off to Caesar Martinez that he can kill a zombie by throwing a knife at its head at medium range.

■Daryl is now the last surviving member of his family following the death of Merle.
■Daryl's killing of Merle closing resembles Andrea's killing of Amy (both killed a sibling who had reanimated as a walker, leaving them both the last known surviving members of their families)