Boys' name · since 1880
Don
Don has 167,632 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1946 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #206 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,793 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 167,632
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Yes -- Don is the #1793 most popular boys' name in the U.S. today, with 167,632 recorded since 1880.
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Don has been recorded 167,632 times among boys since 1880, currently ranked #1793 nationally and more common than 87% of boys, with its heaviest use in the 1940s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #206 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #1,793 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 167,632 born since 1880
- 1940s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Don ranks #206 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,793 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 167,632 born since 1880, peaking in the 1940s.
- #206 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #1,793 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 167,632
- born since 1880
- 1940s
- peak decade
Don's 167,632 recorded births place it above 99.54% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.
How Don compares
167,632 Top 2% higher than 98% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Don's all-time total is 454x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Don | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 167,632 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 4,110 | 34 | 22,252 |
Don's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Don's full recorded timeline at 1953, 38% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 62% in the earlier half -- the name was more prevalent in its earlier era than it is today. Its quietest year on record was 1881, with just 26 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1946 peak of 4,110 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Don popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1946)
- 4,110
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Don popularity over time - girls
1,207 total births recorded since 1907 (Don as girls' name)
Don by decade
1940s is the heaviest window (36,255 births, 22% of the file).
1940s was Don's strongest decade.
36,255 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 22% of all-time use.
Don births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 454
1880s
454 births
- 1890s 620
1890s
620 births
- 1900s 817
1900s
817 births
- 1910s 5,683
1910s
5,683 births
- 1920s
1920s
16,941 births
- 1930s
1930s
35,980 births
- 1940s
1940s
36,255 births
- 1950s
1950s
29,452 births
- 1960s
1960s
22,123 births
- 1970s 8,496
1970s
8,496 births
- 1980s 4,989
1980s
4,989 births
- 1990s 2,638
1990s
2,638 births
- 2000s 1,530
2000s
1,530 births
- 2010s 1,072
2010s
1,072 births
- 2020s 582
2020s
582 births
What this shows Peak: 1940s at 36,255 births (22% of all-time use).
How Don compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Don's total volume
Don by state
Where Don concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | California | | 17,030 | 10.2% |
| #2 | Texas | | 15,554 | 9.3% |
| #3 | Ohio | | 10,040 | 6.0% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 9,039 | 5.4% |
| #5 | Michigan | | 6,838 | 4.1% |
| #6 | Oklahoma | | 6,197 | 3.7% |
| #7 | Missouri | | 5,960 | 3.6% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 5,713 | 3.4% |
17,030 of 167,632 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Don appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Don? ▼
Where does Don sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Don most popular? ▼
Where is Don most popular? ▼
How long has the name Don been used? ▼
What names are similar to Don? ▼
What to do with Don's data
- Don's decade-level peak was the 1940s (36,255 total births); usage has since declined to 582 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- California records the most Dons (17,030 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Don
Nearby Names Like Don
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Don
Compare Don side by side: Don vs Donald Don vs Donovan Don vs Donnie
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Don
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Don: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1946)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Don draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.