boys' name ★ peaked 1946

Don

Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #1,795 Trend → Stable

A diminutive of the male given names Donald, Donovan, and Gordon.

Rank 2025
#1,795
among boys · ↓15 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
89
named Don · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 19,192
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1946
4,130 babies
All-time total
168,839
#206 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Don popularity over time

168,839 babies have been named Don since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
123418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 454 454 45 – #203
1890s – 620 620 62 +37% #191
1900s 11 817 828 83 +34% #193
1910s 80 5,683 5,763 576 +596% #145
1920s 227 16,941 17,168 1,717 +198% #78
1930s 268 35,980 36,248 3,625 +111% #50
1940s 167 36,255 36,422 3,642 0% #62
1950s 153 29,452 29,605 2,961 -19% #107
1960s 145 22,123 22,268 2,227 -25% #115
1970s 112 8,496 8,608 861 -61% #203
1980s 39 4,989 5,028 503 -42% #298
1990s 5 2,638 2,643 264 -47% #538
2000s – 1,530 1,530 153 -42% #830
2010s – 1,072 1,072 107 -30% #1,354
2020s (to 2025) – 582 582 97 -10% #1,552

Where Don is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 88 0.05 outside top 500
2027 88 0.05 outside top 500
2028 87 0.05 outside top 500
2029 87 0.05 outside top 500
2030 87 0.05 outside top 500

Where Don is most popular

Boys named Don per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.057 per 1,000. Strongest in Georgia, Texas, and New York.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Don born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Georgia 20 0.079 +39%
Texas 67 0.076 +33%
New York 32 0.074 +30%
Florida 30 0.063 +11%
California 45 0.049 -14%
Virginia 7 0.037 -35%
Michigan 7 0.034 -40%
New Jersey 6 0.030 -48%
Pennsylvania 5 0.019 -67%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Don

Don is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,795 in 2025 with 89 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 168,839 American babies have been named Don. Its peak came in 1946, when 4,130 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Don stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Don?

The median living Don is about 67 years old; half are between 58 and 78. An estimated 84 thousand people named Don are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Don year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 89 #1,795
2024 – – 92 #1,780
2023 – – 94 #1,750
2022 – – 115 #1,552
2021 – – 102 #1,638
2020 – – 90 #1,722
2019 – – 88 #1,768
2018 – – 115 #1,500
2017 – – 90 #1,725
2016 – – 105 #1,566
2015 – – 117 #1,445
2014 – – 112 #1,457
2013 – – 125 #1,354
2012 – – 96 #1,619
2011 – – 113 #1,452
2010 – – 111 #1,473
2009 – – 136 #1,293
2008 – – 133 #1,306
2007 – – 127 #1,334
2006 – – 170 #1,055
2005 – – 138 #1,156
2004 – – 140 #1,128
2003 – – 155 #1,019
2002 – – 155 #1,003
2001 – – 183 #873
2000 – – 193 #830
1995 – – 299 #597
1990 – – 332 #554
1985 6 #9,637 473 #381
1980 8 #7,597 598 #321
1975 7 #7,368 766 #258
1970 15 #3,914 1,279 #203
1965 14 #3,444 1,907 #157
1960 19 #2,837 3,454 #115
1955 11 #3,632 2,649 #125
1950 16 #2,579 2,712 #107
1945 15 #2,262 3,482 #73
1940 18 #1,909 3,547 #62
1935 21 #1,680 3,917 #51
1930 34 #1,294 2,922 #68
1925 18 #2,133 1,653 #106
1920 13 #2,622 1,019 #148
1915 11 #2,576 747 #156
1910 – – 140 #191
1905 – – 85 #206
1900 – – 81 #219
1895 – – 78 #191
1890 – – 61 #212
1885 – – 35 #282
1880 – – 34 #284

Famous people named Don

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Don Johnson Don Johnson American actor (born 1949) Contemporary
  2. 2 Don Henley Don Henley American musician and songwriter (born 1947) Contemporary
  3. 3 Don Rickles Don Rickles American comedian and actor (1926–2017) Contemporary
  4. 4 Don Knotts Don Knotts American actor and comedian (1924–2006) Contemporary
  5. 5 Don Cheadle Don Cheadle American actor (born 1964) Contemporary
  6. 6 Don Shirley Don Shirley American pianist and composer (1927–2013) Contemporary
  7. 7 Don Bluth Don Bluth American filmmaker and animator (born 1937) Contemporary
  8. 8 Don McLean Don McLean American singer-songwriter (born 1945) Contemporary
  9. 9 Don Bradman Don Bradman Australian cricketer (1908–2001) Contemporary
  10. 10 Don Ameche Don Ameche American actor (1908–1993) Contemporary
  11. 11 Don Nelson Don Nelson American basketball player and coach (1940–2026) Contemporary
  12. 12 Don Adams Actor, United States 1923–2005 · Contemporary
  13. 13 Don DeLillo Don DeLillo American writer (born 1936) Contemporary
  14. 14 Don S. Davis Don S. Davis American actor (1942–2008) Contemporary
  15. 15 Don Revie Don Revie English footballer and manager (1927–1989) Contemporary
  16. 16 Don Simpson Don Simpson American film producer, screenwriter and actor (1943–1996) Contemporary
  17. 17 Don Siegel Don Siegel American filmmaker (1912–1991) Contemporary
  18. 18 Don Murray Don Murray American actor (1929–2024) Contemporary
  19. 19 Don Cherry Don Cherry American jazz trumpeter (1936–1995) Contemporary
  20. 20 Don King Don King American boxing promoter (born 1931) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Don, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Don?

The median living Don is about 67 years old. Half of all living Dons are between 58 and 78 years old.

How many people named Don are alive today?

An estimated 84 thousand people named Don are alive in the United States, based on 168,839 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Don mean?

A diminutive of the male given names Donald, Donovan, and Gordon.

How popular is the name Don in 2025?

Don ranked #1,795 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 89 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Don?

168,839 babies have been named Don in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Don most popular?

Don peaked in 1946, when 4,130 newborns received the name.

Is Don a boy or girl name?

Don is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Don rising or falling?

Don is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Don become more popular?

Don looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 87 boys named Don in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Don?

Well-known people named Don include Don Johnson (actor), Don Henley (musician), Don Rickles (comedian).

Names like Don

Names that sound and feel close to Don: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Don with similar names → More names starting with D →