boys' name ★ peaked 2003

Donovan

Meaning brown Gender Boy Rank 2025 #496 Trend ↓ Falling 31%

From Irish Ó Donndubháin (“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”), from donn (“brown”) and dubh (“black”).

Rank 2025
#496
among boys · ↑10 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
609
named Donovan · +1% vs 2024
How common
1 in 2,805
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2003
2,219 babies
All-time total
61,904
#440 all-time among boys
First recorded
1900
in Social Security records

Donovan popularity over time

61,904 babies have been named Donovan since 1900, 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
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – 83 83 8 – #712
1910s – 335 335 34 +304% #884
1920s – 719 719 72 +115% #649
1930s – 866 866 87 +20% #567
1940s – 717 717 72 -17% #660
1950s – 876 876 88 +22% #704
1960s 8 1,813 1,821 182 +108% #361
1970s 18 3,750 3,768 377 +107% #365
1980s 46 4,553 4,599 460 +22% #311
1990s 63 12,239 12,302 1,230 +167% #210
2000s 60 19,329 19,389 1,939 +58% #176
2010s 25 12,289 12,314 1,231 -36% #217
2020s (to 2025) – 4,115 4,115 686 -44% #374

Where Donovan 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 573 0.34 outside top 500
2027 544 0.32 outside top 500
2028 520 0.30 outside top 500
2029 501 0.29 outside top 500
2030 486 0.28 outside top 500

Where Donovan is most popular

Boys named Donovan per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.380 per 1,000. Strongest in Rhode Island, Kansas, and Nevada.

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 Donovan 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
Rhode Island 12 0.736 +94%
Kansas 41 0.598 +57%
Nevada 34 0.596 +57%
California 535 0.585 +54%
Arizona 90 0.550 +45%
Utah 50 0.524 +38%
New Jersey 104 0.517 +36%
Illinois 129 0.505 +33%
Massachusetts 68 0.495 +30%
Colorado 63 0.488 +28%
Oregon 34 0.448 +18%
Washington 73 0.446 +17%
Maryland 53 0.444 +17%
Ohio 117 0.441 +16%
Idaho 18 0.440 +16%
Virginia 83 0.437 +15%
Georgia 109 0.430 +13%
Michigan 88 0.430 +13%
Indiana 67 0.418 +10%
Wisconsin 49 0.414 +9%
New York 178 0.411 +8%
Florida 192 0.405 +7%
Pennsylvania 107 0.403 +6%
Missouri 55 0.397 ≈ national
North Carolina 101 0.396 ≈ national
Connecticut 26 0.384 ≈ national
Texas 327 0.371 ≈ national
Tennessee 64 0.355 -7%
Oklahoma 30 0.339 -11%
District of Columbia 5 0.339 -11%
Minnesota 40 0.326 -14%
Louisiana 33 0.323 -15%
South Carolina 32 0.310 -19%
Kentucky 30 0.299 -21%
Iowa 19 0.276 -28%
Nebraska 11 0.253 -33%
Mississippi 14 0.246 -35%
Alabama 24 0.220 -42%
New Mexico 5 0.152 -60%
Arkansas 7 0.111 -71%
Alaska – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Maine – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
New Hampshire – – –
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 Donovan

Donovan is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #496 in 2025 with 609 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1900, 61,904 American babies have been named Donovan. Its peak came in 2003, when 2,219 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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

How old are people named Donovan?

The median living Donovan is about 22 years old; half are between 14 and 32. An estimated 58 thousand people named Donovan are alive in the United States today.

median 22 020406080100

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

Donovan 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 – – 609 #496
2024 – – 604 #506
2023 – – 652 #468
2022 – – 693 #448
2021 – – 727 #425
2020 – – 830 #374
2019 – – 947 #352
2018 5 #16,347 1,030 #325
2017 5 #16,528 1,061 #323
2016 5 #16,952 1,160 #306
2015 – – 1,304 #282
2014 5 #17,270 1,271 #284
2013 – – 1,237 #281
2012 – – 1,272 #276
2011 – – 1,363 #254
2010 5 #17,763 1,644 #217
2009 – – 1,741 #215
2008 7 #14,260 1,786 #214
2007 6 #16,061 2,044 #197
2006 – – 1,967 #198
2005 – – 2,186 #185
2004 13 #8,393 2,055 #187
2003 8 #11,605 2,211 #176
2002 7 #12,578 1,964 #190
2001 7 #12,421 1,657 #211
2000 12 #8,177 1,718 #206
1995 9 #8,977 1,077 #261
1990 6 #11,809 849 #300
1985 6 #9,641 460 #391
1980 – – 344 #449
1975 – – 338 #425
1970 5 #8,319 501 #365
1965 – – 132 #649
1960 – – 75 #878
1955 – – 107 #708
1950 – – 90 #721
1945 – – 58 #822
1940 – – 84 #660
1935 – – 66 #759
1930 – – 93 #637
1925 – – 75 #760
1920 – – 61 #879
1915 – – 45 #928
1910 – – – –
1905 – – 12 #712
1900 – – 8 #983
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Donovan

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

  1. 1 Donovan Mitchell Donovan Mitchell American basketball player (born 1996) Contemporary
  2. 2 Donovan Donovan Scottish musician (born 1946) Contemporary
  3. 3 Donovan Bailey Donovan Bailey Jamaican-Canadian sprinter (born 1967) Contemporary
  4. 4 Donovan Ricketts Donovan Ricketts Jamaican footballer (born 1977) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Donovan?

The median living Donovan is about 22 years old. Half of all living Donovans are between 14 and 32 years old.

How many people named Donovan are alive today?

An estimated 58 thousand people named Donovan are alive in the United States, based on 61,904 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Donovan mean?

From Irish Ó Donndubháin (“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”), from donn (“brown”) and dubh (“black”).

How popular is the name Donovan in 2025?

Donovan ranked #496 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 609 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Donovan?

61,904 babies have been named Donovan in the United States since 1900, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Donovan most popular?

Donovan peaked in 2003, when 2,219 newborns received the name.

Is Donovan a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Donovan rising or falling?

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

Will Donovan become more popular?

Donovan is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 486 boys named Donovan 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 Donovan?

Well-known people named Donovan include Donovan Mitchell (basketball player), Donovan (musician), Donovan Bailey (athlete).

Names like Donovan

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

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