Popularity of the name Donna, 1880–2025
Donna was at its most popular in 1959, when 36,468 girls were given the name: about 1 in 55 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #5. In 2025, 98 girls were named Donna, ranking #1,962. In all, Social Security counts 831,641 girls named Donna since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 2,233 boys named Donna.
- Peak year
- 1959
- Rank in 1959
- #5
- Babies in 1959
- 36,468
- Rank in 2025
- #1,962
- Total since 1880
- 831,641
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has slipped from #1,437 in 2015 to #1,962 in 2025, with 160 girls named Donna in 2015 and 98 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Donna ranked highest in the 1960s, at #8, with 213,468 girls given the name that decade. It ranked #399 in the 1880s and #1,864 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 17 in 1880 (#403), 79 in 1900 (#375), 959 in 1920 (#202), 9,232 in 1940 (#23), 34,138 in 1960 (#5), 2,009 in 1980 (#144), 370 in 2000 (#659) and 137 in 2020 (#1,545).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 36,468, in 1959. Its best rank, #5, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Donna, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 17 | #403 |
| 1881 | 15 | #434 |
| 1882 | 19 | #418 |
| 1883 | 21 | #411 |
| 1884 | 22 | #425 |
| 1885 | 26 | #405 |
| 1886 | 29 | #400 |
| 1887 | 38 | #348 |
| 1888 | 37 | #403 |
| 1889 | 41 | #379 |
| 1890 | 33 | #446 |
| 1891 | 37 | #404 |
| 1892 | 43 | #406 |
| 1893 | 42 | #414 |
| 1894 | 44 | #418 |
| 1895 | 44 | #426 |
| 1896 | 40 | #457 |
| 1897 | 53 | #397 |
| 1898 | 52 | #427 |
| 1899 | 52 | #402 |
| 1900 | 79 | #375 |
| 1901 | 53 | #411 |
| 1902 | 55 | #416 |
| 1903 | 78 | #361 |
| 1904 | 61 | #412 |
| 1905 | 59 | #439 |
| 1906 | 84 | #368 |
| 1907 | 100 | #354 |
| 1908 | 98 | #365 |
| 1909 | 123 | #323 |
| 1910 | 107 | #378 |
| 1911 | 149 | #324 |
| 1912 | 227 | #298 |
| 1913 | 266 | #291 |
| 1914 | 283 | #310 |
| 1915 | 483 | #267 |
| 1916 | 606 | #247 |
| 1917 | 652 | #243 |
| 1918 | 746 | #233 |
| 1919 | 774 | #225 |
| 1920 | 959 | #202 |
| 1921 | 1,111 | #189 |
| 1922 | 1,349 | #166 |
| 1923 | 1,578 | #156 |
| 1924 | 2,125 | #131 |
| 1925 | 2,429 | #110 |
| 1926 | 3,008 | #90 |
| 1927 | 3,992 | #70 |
| 1928 | 4,470 | #61 |
| 1929 | 5,139 | #47 |
| 1930 | 5,978 | #37 |
| 1931 | 6,600 | #32 |
| 1932 | 7,362 | #29 |
| 1933 | 7,360 | #24 |
| 1934 | 7,870 | #23 |
| 1935 | 7,793 | #23 |
| 1936 | 7,932 | #22 |
| 1937 | 8,887 | #21 |
| 1938 | 9,693 | #20 |
| 1939 | 9,371 | #20 |
| 1940 | 9,232 | #23 |
| 1941 | 10,446 | #20 |
| 1942 | 12,987 | #20 |
| 1943 | 14,912 | #17 |
| 1944 | 15,173 | #17 |
| 1945 | 15,397 | #17 |
| 1946 | 19,770 | #13 |
| 1947 | 23,517 | #10 |
| 1948 | 22,033 | #11 |
| 1949 | 22,056 | #12 |
| 1950 | 21,629 | #13 |
| 1951 | 24,074 | #12 |
| 1952 | 23,718 | #13 |
| 1953 | 24,227 | #13 |
| 1954 | 27,429 | #11 |
| 1955 | 27,940 | #10 |
| 1956 | 29,852 | #10 |
| 1957 | 28,042 | #10 |
| 1958 | 26,959 | #10 |
| 1959 | 36,468 | #5 |
| 1960 | 34,138 | #5 |
| 1961 | 28,679 | #7 |
| 1962 | 25,719 | #7 |
| 1963 | 25,405 | #6 |
| 1964 | 23,808 | #7 |
| 1965 | 19,700 | #7 |
| 1966 | 17,037 | #12 |
| 1967 | 14,787 | #19 |
| 1968 | 12,748 | #24 |
| 1969 | 11,447 | #26 |
| 1970 | 9,968 | #32 |
| 1971 | 8,013 | #38 |
| 1972 | 6,257 | #45 |
| 1973 | 5,058 | #55 |
| 1974 | 4,354 | #67 |
| 1975 | 3,422 | #85 |
| 1976 | 3,032 | #93 |
| 1977 | 2,581 | #113 |
| 1978 | 2,459 | #120 |
| 1979 | 2,198 | #131 |
| 1980 | 2,009 | #144 |
| 1981 | 1,700 | #167 |
| 1982 | 1,530 | #179 |
| 1983 | 1,378 | #192 |
| 1984 | 1,181 | #221 |
| 1985 | 1,191 | #219 |
| 1986 | 992 | #259 |
| 1987 | 1,031 | #248 |
| 1988 | 1,040 | #251 |
| 1989 | 992 | #270 |
| 1990 | 861 | #319 |
| 1991 | 739 | #350 |
| 1992 | 679 | #380 |
| 1993 | 581 | #433 |
| 1994 | 662 | #382 |
| 1995 | 492 | #498 |
| 1996 | 420 | #557 |
| 1997 | 422 | #554 |
| 1998 | 433 | #567 |
| 1999 | 373 | #632 |
| 2000 | 370 | #659 |
| 2001 | 355 | #699 |
| 2002 | 376 | #672 |
| 2003 | 323 | #769 |
| 2004 | 331 | #782 |
| 2005 | 305 | #834 |
| 2006 | 325 | #830 |
| 2007 | 261 | #1,016 |
| 2008 | 278 | #962 |
| 2009 | 262 | #1,007 |
| 2010 | 258 | #983 |
| 2011 | 199 | #1,204 |
| 2012 | 188 | #1,273 |
| 2013 | 176 | #1,328 |
| 2014 | 163 | #1,403 |
| 2015 | 160 | #1,437 |
| 2016 | 118 | #1,757 |
| 2017 | 124 | #1,716 |
| 2018 | 139 | #1,554 |
| 2019 | 116 | #1,763 |
| 2020 | 137 | #1,545 |
| 2021 | 105 | #1,885 |
| 2022 | 101 | #1,953 |
| 2023 | 99 | #1,984 |
| 2024 | 103 | #1,925 |
| 2025 | 98 | #1,962 |
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.