How Many People Are Named Don?
An estimated 87,116 people in the United States have the first name Don. It is predominantly male (99.3%). The average bearer is 67 years old, and Don peaked in popularity in 1946 with 4,131 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Don as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Don paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Don is overwhelmingly male, 1,207 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 67, Don is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
- Don has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
87,116
About 1 in 3,934 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
99.3% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1946
4,131 births
Total Registered
168,745
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Don
Don is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 168,745 total births registered, 99.3% were male.
Don as a male name
Ranked #1,789 in 2024
91 male births in 2024
Peak: 1946 (4,111 births)
Don as a female name
Ranked #13,888 in 1992
5 female births in 1992
Peak: 1931 (40 births)
Don: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Don span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1940s, when 36,420 babies were registered. Don has declined significantly from its peak in the 1940s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Don by Decade
How has Don tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 454 | 454 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 620 | 620 | 0 | |
| 1900s | 828 | 817 | 11 | |
| 1910s | 5,763 | 5,683 | 80 | |
| 1920s | 17,168 | 16,941 | 227 | |
| 1930s | 36,248 | 35,980 | 268 | |
| 1940s | 36,420 | 36,253 | 167 | |
| 1950s | 29,604 | 29,451 | 153 | |
| 1960s | 22,268 | 22,123 | 145 | |
| 1970s | 8,608 | 8,496 | 112 | |
| 1980s | 5,031 | 4,992 | 39 | |
| 1990s | 2,642 | 2,637 | 5 | |
| 2000s | 1,530 | 1,530 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 1,071 | 1,071 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 490 | 490 | 0 | |
Don by State
Birth registrations for Don span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, Ohio. The lowest are in Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island. On average, about 3,177 Dons were registered per state.
Don + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Don as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Don
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Don: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Don?
We estimate approximately 87,116 people named Don are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 3,934 Americans share this first name.
Is Don a common name?
Don is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 168,745 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Don most popular?
Don reached peak popularity in 1946, when 4,131 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Don is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Don a male name?
Don is predominantly male. 99.3% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Don Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Don Smith, Don Johnson, Don Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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