# Donald (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/donald/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Meaning | “prince / chief of the world” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɑn.əld/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Don, Donna, Donny |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,420,387 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,414,824 / 5,563 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 413, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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”). Doublet of Domhnall.

## What it means

Donald is grouped under world.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | 47 | 2,104 |
| 1984 | 36 | 2,587 |
| 1985 | 37 | 2,610 |
| 1986 | 34 | 2,795 |
| 1987 | 42 | 2,449 |
| 1988 | 36 | 2,888 |
| 1989 | 18 | 4,918 |
| 1990 | 11 | 7,454 |
| 1991 | 9 | 8,797 |
| 1993 | 12 | 7,152 |
| 1994 | 5 | 14,060 |
| 1995 | 8 | 9,841 |
| 1996 | 7 | 10,889 |
| 1997 | 9 | 9,243 |
| 2004 | 8 | 11,921 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 788 | 377 |
| 2012 | 729 | 400 |
| 2013 | 711 | 415 |
| 2014 | 738 | 419 |
| 2015 | 696 | 440 |
| 2016 | 625 | 489 |
| 2017 | 603 | 486 |
| 2018 | 541 | 524 |
| 2019 | 513 | 549 |
| 2020 | 450 | 609 |
| 2021 | 468 | 596 |
| 2022 | 403 | 677 |
| 2023 | 415 | 659 |
| 2024 | 408 | 673 |
| 2025 | 395 | 690 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 30 | 944 |
| 2012 | 17 | 1,430 |
| 2013 | 11 | 1,920 |
| 2014 | 8 | 2,459 |
| 2015 | 22 | 1,186 |
| 2016 | 9 | 2,335 |
| 2017 | 13 | 1,812 |
| 2018 | 12 | 1,875 |
| 2019 | 12 | 1,869 |
| 2020 | 4 | 3,848 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,493 |
| 2022 | 12 | 1,879 |
| 2023 | 7 | 2,813 |
| 2024 | 16 | 1,595 |
| 2025 | 18 | 1,466 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: دُونَلْد
- Armenian: Դոնալդ
- Bulgarian: До́налд
- Chinese: 唐納德 /唐纳德
- French: Donald
- Georgian: დონალდ
- German: Donald
- Greek: Ντόναλντ, Κουίντος
- Hebrew: דוֹנָלְד
- Hindi: डॉनल्ड
- Irish: Dónal, Dónall
- Japanese: ドナルド
- Korean: 도널드
- Latin: Donaldus, Quintus
- Polish: Donald
- Russian: До́нальд
- Scottish Gaelic: Dòmhnall
- Spanish: Donaldo
- Swedish: Donald
- Vietnamese: Đô-nan

## People named Donald

- Donald Sutherland, Canadian actor (1935–2024)
- Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and mathematician (born 1938)
- Donald Rumsfeld, American politician and diplomat (1932–2021)
- Donald Arthur Glaser, American physicist and neurobiologist (1926–2013)
- Donald Pleasence, British actor (1919–1995)
- Donald Glover, American actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker (born 1983)
- Donald Trump Jr., American businessman and reality television personality (born 1977)
- Donald J. Cram, American chemist (1919–2001)
- Donald O'Connor, American dancer, singer, and actor (1925-2003)
- Donald O. Hebb, Canadian neuroscientist (1904–1985)
- Donald Davidson, American philosopher (1917–2003)
- Donald Barthelme, American writer, editor, and professor (1931–1989)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.