Popularity of the name Donald, 1880–2025
Donald was at its most popular in 1934, when 30,408 boys were given the name: about 1 in 34 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #6. In 2025, 395 boys were named Donald, ranking #690. In all, Social Security counts 1,414,824 boys named Donald since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 5,563 girls named Donald.
- Peak year
- 1934
- Rank in 1934
- #6
- Babies in 1934
- 30,408
- Rank in 2025
- #690
- Total since 1880
- 1,414,824
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #440 in 2015 to #690 in 2025, with 696 boys named Donald in 2015 and 395 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Donald ranked highest in the 1930s, at #7, with 283,718 boys given the name that decade. It ranked #218 in the 1880s and #643 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 46 in 1880 (#244), 328 in 1900 (#79), 11,941 in 1920 (#16), 23,115 in 1940 (#9), 22,744 in 1960 (#19), 6,269 in 1980 (#53), 1,609 in 2000 (#217) and 450 in 2020 (#608).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 30,408, in 1934. Its best rank, #6, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Donald, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 46 | #244 |
| 1881 | 27 | #313 |
| 1882 | 48 | #242 |
| 1883 | 52 | #208 |
| 1884 | 59 | #216 |
| 1885 | 47 | #241 |
| 1886 | 57 | #224 |
| 1887 | 60 | #198 |
| 1888 | 77 | #194 |
| 1889 | 75 | #180 |
| 1890 | 109 | #131 |
| 1891 | 100 | #136 |
| 1892 | 137 | #123 |
| 1893 | 166 | #105 |
| 1894 | 169 | #106 |
| 1895 | 203 | #96 |
| 1896 | 211 | #94 |
| 1897 | 195 | #92 |
| 1898 | 238 | #88 |
| 1899 | 258 | #74 |
| 1900 | 328 | #79 |
| 1901 | 250 | #77 |
| 1902 | 366 | #63 |
| 1903 | 359 | #60 |
| 1904 | 413 | #58 |
| 1905 | 425 | #59 |
| 1906 | 486 | #51 |
| 1907 | 616 | #44 |
| 1908 | 664 | #45 |
| 1909 | 725 | #42 |
| 1910 | 860 | #44 |
| 1911 | 1,275 | #36 |
| 1912 | 2,872 | #27 |
| 1913 | 3,702 | #25 |
| 1914 | 4,835 | #23 |
| 1915 | 7,116 | #20 |
| 1916 | 7,736 | #20 |
| 1917 | 8,729 | #20 |
| 1918 | 9,972 | #18 |
| 1919 | 9,904 | #17 |
| 1920 | 11,941 | #16 |
| 1921 | 13,776 | #13 |
| 1922 | 14,913 | #12 |
| 1923 | 16,433 | #10 |
| 1924 | 17,929 | #10 |
| 1925 | 19,193 | #10 |
| 1926 | 20,912 | #9 |
| 1927 | 23,834 | #8 |
| 1928 | 25,704 | #7 |
| 1929 | 27,181 | #7 |
| 1930 | 29,052 | #7 |
| 1931 | 29,100 | #7 |
| 1932 | 29,794 | #7 |
| 1933 | 28,450 | #7 |
| 1934 | 30,408 | #6 |
| 1935 | 29,674 | #7 |
| 1936 | 28,639 | #7 |
| 1937 | 27,868 | #7 |
| 1938 | 26,677 | #7 |
| 1939 | 24,056 | #8 |
| 1940 | 23,115 | #9 |
| 1941 | 22,641 | #10 |
| 1942 | 23,955 | #10 |
| 1943 | 24,421 | #11 |
| 1944 | 23,468 | #11 |
| 1945 | 22,138 | #12 |
| 1946 | 26,273 | #13 |
| 1947 | 28,260 | #13 |
| 1948 | 26,442 | #14 |
| 1949 | 27,121 | #13 |
| 1950 | 26,999 | #14 |
| 1951 | 27,916 | #15 |
| 1952 | 28,269 | #13 |
| 1953 | 28,361 | #14 |
| 1954 | 29,279 | #14 |
| 1955 | 27,726 | #14 |
| 1956 | 28,223 | #14 |
| 1957 | 27,910 | #15 |
| 1958 | 25,015 | #18 |
| 1959 | 23,876 | #19 |
| 1960 | 22,744 | #19 |
| 1961 | 21,409 | #22 |
| 1962 | 20,425 | #23 |
| 1963 | 18,896 | #25 |
| 1964 | 18,045 | #25 |
| 1965 | 16,033 | #26 |
| 1966 | 14,713 | #27 |
| 1967 | 14,226 | #27 |
| 1968 | 13,362 | #29 |
| 1969 | 12,775 | #30 |
| 1970 | 12,397 | #30 |
| 1971 | 10,872 | #34 |
| 1972 | 9,261 | #36 |
| 1973 | 8,361 | #38 |
| 1974 | 7,758 | #41 |
| 1975 | 7,197 | #42 |
| 1976 | 6,792 | #47 |
| 1977 | 6,866 | #46 |
| 1978 | 6,423 | #48 |
| 1979 | 6,508 | #51 |
| 1980 | 6,269 | #53 |
| 1981 | 5,910 | #56 |
| 1982 | 5,712 | #58 |
| 1983 | 5,327 | #60 |
| 1984 | 5,062 | #63 |
| 1985 | 4,750 | #66 |
| 1986 | 4,661 | #71 |
| 1987 | 4,501 | #70 |
| 1988 | 4,328 | #76 |
| 1989 | 4,323 | #82 |
| 1990 | 4,177 | #87 |
| 1991 | 3,650 | #102 |
| 1992 | 3,266 | #110 |
| 1993 | 2,996 | #118 |
| 1994 | 2,652 | #132 |
| 1995 | 2,252 | #155 |
| 1996 | 2,184 | #158 |
| 1997 | 1,970 | #173 |
| 1998 | 1,862 | #180 |
| 1999 | 1,747 | #192 |
| 2000 | 1,609 | #217 |
| 2001 | 1,470 | #231 |
| 2002 | 1,289 | #252 |
| 2003 | 1,308 | #253 |
| 2004 | 1,251 | #263 |
| 2005 | 1,150 | #289 |
| 2006 | 1,098 | #303 |
| 2007 | 999 | #321 |
| 2008 | 992 | #332 |
| 2009 | 839 | #363 |
| 2010 | 765 | #377 |
| 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 | #608 |
| 2021 | 468 | #596 |
| 2022 | 403 | #676 |
| 2023 | 415 | #659 |
| 2024 | 408 | #673 |
| 2025 | 395 | #690 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.