How Many People Are Named Donna?
An estimated 523,137 people in the United States have the first name Donna. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #82 overall. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 67 years old, and Donna peaked in popularity in 1959 with 36,540 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Jordan (518,558).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Donna 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 Donna paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Donna is overwhelmingly female, 2,233 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 67, Donna is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1969.
- Donna has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
523,137
About 1 in 655 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Female
99.7% confidence
Average Age
67
years old
Peak Year
1959
36,540 births
Total Registered
833,769
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Donna
Donna is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 833,769 total births registered, 99.7% were female.
Donna as a male name
Ranked #7,901 in 1993
6 male births in 1993
Peak: 1960 (78 births)
Donna as a female name
Ranked #1,941 in 2024
102 female births in 2024
Peak: 1959 (36,469 births)
Donna: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Donna span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1950s, when 270,837 babies were registered. Donna has declined significantly from its peak in the 1950s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Donna by Decade
How has Donna 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 | 265 | 0 | 265 | |
| 1890s | 440 | 0 | 440 | |
| 1900s | 790 | 0 | 790 | |
| 1910s | 4,293 | 0 | 4,293 | |
| 1920s | 26,223 | 63 | 26,160 | |
| 1930s | 79,161 | 315 | 78,846 | |
| 1940s | 165,995 | 472 | 165,523 | |
| 1950s | 270,837 | 504 | 270,333 | |
| 1960s | 214,041 | 574 | 213,467 | |
| 1970s | 47,562 | 218 | 47,344 | |
| 1980s | 13,117 | 73 | 13,044 | |
| 1990s | 5,677 | 14 | 5,663 | |
| 2000s | 3,185 | 0 | 3,185 | |
| 2010s | 1,640 | 0 | 1,640 | |
| 2020s | 543 | 0 | 543 | |
Donna by State
Birth registrations for Donna span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Pennsylvania, California. The lowest are in Alaska, Nevada, Wyoming. On average, about 16,226 Donnas were registered per state.
Donna + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Donna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Donna
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Donna: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donna?
We estimate approximately 523,137 people named Donna 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 655 Americans share this first name.
Is Donna a common name?
Donna is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 833,769 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Donna most popular?
Donna reached peak popularity in 1959, when 36,540 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Donna is approximately 67 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Donna a female name?
Donna is predominantly female. 99.7% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Donna Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Donna Smith, Donna Johnson, Donna 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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