boys' name ★ peaked 1934

Donald

Meaning prince / chief of the world Gender Boy Rank 2025 #690 Trend ↓ Falling 16%

Name of Scottish kings and an early saint, from Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall and reinforced by Medieval Latin Donvaldus ~ Donaldus, from Old Irish Domnall, from Proto-Celtic…

Rank 2025
#690
among boys · ↓17 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
395
named Donald · -3% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,324
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1934
30,518 babies
All-time total
1,420,387
#16 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Donald popularity over time

1,420,387 babies have been named Donald 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
1020304018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 548 548 55 – #180
1890s 5 1,786 1,791 179 +227% #74
1900s – 4,632 4,632 463 +159% #42
1910s 197 57,001 57,198 5,720 +1135% #17
1920s 1,019 191,816 192,835 19,284 +237% #7
1930s 1,146 283,718 284,864 28,486 +48% #6
1940s 650 247,834 248,484 24,848 -13% #9
1950s 751 273,574 274,325 27,433 +10% #13
1960s 762 172,628 173,390 17,339 -37% #19
1970s 582 82,435 83,017 8,302 -52% #30
1980s 382 50,843 51,225 5,123 -38% #53
1990s 61 26,756 26,817 2,682 -48% #87
2000s 8 12,005 12,013 1,201 -55% #217
2010s – 6,709 6,709 671 -44% #377
2020s (to 2025) – 2,539 2,539 423 -37% #596

Where Donald 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 383 0.22 outside top 500
2027 373 0.22 outside top 500
2028 365 0.21 outside top 500
2029 358 0.21 outside top 500
2030 352 0.21 outside top 500

Where Donald is most popular

Boys named Donald per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.242 per 1,000. Strongest in Delaware, Louisiana, and Michigan.

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 Donald 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
Delaware 11 0.725 +200%
Louisiana 54 0.528 +118%
Michigan 88 0.430 +78%
Alabama 46 0.421 +74%
Pennsylvania 109 0.411 +70%
Kentucky 41 0.409 +69%
South Carolina 41 0.397 +64%
Ohio 105 0.396 +64%
Missouri 53 0.382 +58%
Maryland 45 0.377 +56%
Indiana 59 0.368 +52%
Illinois 93 0.364 +50%
Georgia 90 0.355 +47%
Wisconsin 40 0.338 +40%
Virginia 62 0.327 +35%
North Carolina 81 0.317 +31%
Washington 48 0.293 +21%
Arizona 46 0.281 +16%
New Jersey 51 0.253 +5%
Tennessee 45 0.249 ≈ national
Florida 116 0.245 ≈ national
Massachusetts 33 0.240 ≈ national
New York 100 0.231 -5%
Oklahoma 20 0.226 -7%
Connecticut 15 0.222 -8%
Minnesota 27 0.220 -9%
Utah 21 0.220 -9%
Oregon 15 0.198 -18%
Mississippi 10 0.176 -27%
California 149 0.163 -33%
Nebraska 7 0.161 -33%
Iowa 11 0.160 -34%
Arkansas 10 0.158 -35%
Texas 138 0.157 -35%
Idaho 5 0.122 -49%
Colorado 8 0.062 -74%
Alaska – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Donald

Donald is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #690 in 2025 with 395 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,420,387 American babies have been named Donald. Its peak came in 1934, when 30,518 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1930s.

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 Donald stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Donald?

The median living Donald is about 67 years old; half are between 56 and 76. An estimated 692 thousand people named Donald 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.

Donald 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 – – 395 #690
2024 – – 408 #673
2023 – – 415 #659
2022 – – 403 #677
2021 – – 468 #596
2020 – – 450 #609
2019 – – 513 #549
2018 – – 541 #524
2017 – – 603 #486
2016 – – 625 #489
2015 – – 696 #440
2014 – – 738 #419
2013 – – 711 #415
2012 – – 729 #400
2011 – – 788 #377
2010 – – 765 #377
2009 – – 839 #363
2008 – – 992 #333
2007 – – 999 #321
2006 – – 1,098 #303
2005 – – 1,150 #289
2004 8 #11,921 1,251 #263
2003 – – 1,308 #253
2002 – – 1,289 #252
2001 – – 1,470 #231
2000 – – 1,609 #217
1995 8 #9,841 2,252 #155
1990 11 #7,454 4,177 #87
1985 37 #2,610 4,750 #66
1980 46 #2,198 6,269 #53
1975 57 #1,675 7,197 #42
1970 64 #1,531 12,397 #30
1965 61 #1,412 16,033 #26
1960 87 #1,167 22,744 #19
1955 69 #1,211 27,726 #14
1950 51 #1,287 26,999 #14
1945 47 #1,145 22,138 #12
1940 84 #763 23,115 #9
1935 112 #614 29,674 #7
1930 175 #507 29,052 #7
1925 105 #720 19,193 #10
1920 46 #1,107 11,941 #16
1915 20 #1,695 7,116 #20
1910 6 #2,210 860 #44
1905 – – 425 #59
1900 – – 328 #79
1895 – – 203 #96
1890 5 #1,385 109 #131
1885 – – 47 #242
1880 – – 46 #246

Famous people named Donald

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

  1. 1 Donald Trump Donald Trump President of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025) b. 1946 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Donald Sutherland Donald Sutherland Canadian actor (1935–2024) Contemporary
  3. 3 Donald Glover Donald Glover American actor and musician (born 1983) Contemporary
  4. 4 Donald Rumsfeld Donald Rumsfeld American politician and diplomat (1932–2021) Contemporary
  5. 5 Donald Pleasence Donald Pleasence English actor (1919–1995) Contemporary
  6. 6 Donald Tusk Donald Tusk Prime Minister of Poland (2007–2014; since 2023) b. 1957 · Contemporary
  7. 7 Donald O'Connor Donald O'Connor American film actor (1925–2003) Contemporary
  8. 8 Donald P. Bellisario Donald P. Bellisario American television producer and screenwriter (born 1935) Contemporary
  9. 9 Donald Knuth Donald Knuth American computer scientist and mathematician (born 1938) Contemporary
  10. 10 Donald "Duck" Dunn Donald "Duck" Dunn American bass guitarist (1941–2012) Contemporary
  11. 11 Donald Maclean Donald Maclean British diplomat and spy (1913–1983) Contemporary
  12. 12 Donald E. Westlake Donald E. Westlake American novelist (1933–2008) Contemporary
  13. 13 Donald Moffat Donald Moffat British–American actor (1930–2018) Contemporary
  14. 14 Donald Crisp Donald Crisp English actor (1882–1974) 19th century
  15. 15 Donald Byrd Donald Byrd American jazz trumpeter (1932–2013) Contemporary
  16. 16 Donald Winnicott Donald Winnicott English paediatrician and psychoanalyst (1896–1971) 19th century
  17. 17 Donald Judd Donald Judd American artist (1928–1994) Contemporary
  18. 18 Donald Tsang Donald Tsang Chief Executive of Hong Kong from 2005 to 2012 b. 1944 · Contemporary
  19. 19 Donald Davidson Donald Davidson American philosopher (1917–2003) Contemporary
  20. 20 Donald Barthelme Writer, United States 1931–1989 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Donald?

The median living Donald is about 67 years old. Half of all living Donalds are between 56 and 76 years old.

How many people named Donald are alive today?

An estimated 692 thousand people named Donald are alive in the United States, based on 1,420,387 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Donald mean?

Name of Scottish kings and an early saint, from Scottish Gaelic Dòmhnall and reinforced by Medieval Latin Donvaldus ~ Donaldus, from Old Irish Domnall, from Proto-Celtic *Dubnowalos (“prince / chief of the world”).

How popular is the name Donald in 2025?

Donald ranked #690 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 395 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Donald?

1,420,387 babies have been named Donald in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Donald most popular?

Donald peaked in 1934, when 30,518 newborns received the name.

Is Donald a boy or girl name?

Donald is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Donald rising or falling?

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

Will Donald become more popular?

Donald is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 352 boys named Donald in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Donald?

Well-known people named Donald include Donald Trump (politician), Donald Sutherland (actor), Donald Glover (actor).

Names like Donald

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

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