# Donovan (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/donovan/  
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 | not recorded |
| Meaning | “brown”, “black” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɒnəvɪn/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Donavan |
| US babies named this | 61,904 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 61,684 / 220 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 662, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

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

## What it means

Donovan is grouped under black.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 9 | 9,245 |
| 1998 | 11 | 8,156 |
| 1999 | 10 | 8,977 |
| 2000 | 12 | 8,177 |
| 2001 | 7 | 12,421 |
| 2002 | 7 | 12,578 |
| 2003 | 8 | 11,605 |
| 2004 | 13 | 8,393 |
| 2007 | 6 | 16,061 |
| 2008 | 7 | 14,260 |
| 2010 | 5 | 17,763 |
| 2014 | 5 | 17,270 |
| 2016 | 5 | 16,952 |
| 2017 | 5 | 16,528 |
| 2018 | 5 | 16,347 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,363 | 254 |
| 2012 | 1,272 | 276 |
| 2013 | 1,237 | 281 |
| 2014 | 1,271 | 284 |
| 2015 | 1,304 | 282 |
| 2016 | 1,160 | 306 |
| 2017 | 1,061 | 323 |
| 2018 | 1,030 | 325 |
| 2019 | 947 | 352 |
| 2020 | 830 | 374 |
| 2021 | 727 | 425 |
| 2022 | 693 | 448 |
| 2023 | 652 | 468 |
| 2024 | 604 | 506 |
| 2025 | 609 | 496 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 13 | 1,688 |
| 2012 | 25 | 1,086 |
| 2013 | 23 | 1,116 |
| 2014 | 27 | 1,035 |
| 2015 | 21 | 1,236 |
| 2016 | 31 | 946 |
| 2017 | 22 | 1,210 |
| 2018 | 23 | 1,158 |
| 2019 | 16 | 1,506 |
| 2020 | 13 | 1,723 |
| 2021 | 11 | 1,984 |
| 2022 | 23 | 1,179 |
| 2023 | 8 | 2,546 |
| 2024 | 16 | 1,595 |
| 2025 | 28 | 1,066 |

## People named Donovan

- Donovan Bailey, Canadian athlete, Olympic medalist
- Donovan Scott, American actor
- Donovan Dijak, American professional wrestler
- Donovan Clingan, American basketball player (born 2004)
- Donovan Ruddock, Canadian boxer
- Donovan Léon, French footballer
- Donovan McNabb, American football player (born 1976)
- Donovan Leitch, British actor and film director (born 1967)
- Donovan Patton, American actor (born 1978)
- Donovan Stewart Correll, American botanist (1908-1983)
- Donovan Pines, American soccer player
- Donovan Slijngard, Dutch footballer

## 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.