Girls' name · since 1880

Dona

18,857 babies named Dona in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1954. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

#1,105 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#14,949 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
18,857
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade

Dona currently ranks #14949 among girls' names in America, with 18,857 babies recorded since 1880.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dona has been recorded 18,857 times among girls since 1880, currently ranked #14949 nationally and more common than 14% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1950s. 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.

  • #1,105 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #14,949 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 18,857 born since 1880
  • 1950s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dona ranks #1,105 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #14,949 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 18,857 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.

#1,105 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#14,949 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
18,857
born since 1880
1950s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%13.5%
Dona vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Dona's 18,857 recorded births place it above 98.47% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

46 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

46 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Dona compares

18,857 Top 7% higher than 93% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls 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

Dona's all-time total is 50x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Dona Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 18,857 376 567,345
Peak-year births 487 21 19,840

Dona's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Dona's full recorded timeline at 1949, 42% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 58% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 2025, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1954 peak of 487 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Dona popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1954)
487
Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
0200400600 188018981916193419521970198820062025 5

Dona popularity over time - boys

175 total births recorded since 1910 (Dona as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 175 births
468101214 19101923192819331944195419631982 5

Dona by decade

1950s is the heaviest window (3,910 births, 21% of the file).

1950s was Dona's strongest decade.

3,910 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 21% of all-time use.

Dona births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1950s at 3,910 births (21% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Dona compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Dona's total volume

Dona vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10%12% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -48, 9.8%-146, 1.4%-111, 3.7%-77, 7.6%-106, 4.6%-54, 5.6%-146, 10%-146, 4.1%-116, 3.4%-111, 3.4%-113, 2.9%-135, 2%-32, 6.6%-44, 9.1%-141, 2.4%Dona-146, 2.6%Dona
Dona vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Dona by state

Where Dona concentrates geographically, total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Dona
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
1,562 8.3%
#2 New York
929 4.9%
#3 Texas
904 4.8%
#4 Pennsylvania
884 4.7%
#5 Ohio
872 4.6%
#6 Illinois
780 4.1%
#7 Michigan
656 3.5%
#8 Wisconsin
474 2.5%
California share of Dona's total US births 8.3%
Even split

1,562 of 18,857 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 46 reporting states.

Dona appears in 46 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Dona?
Dona has been given to 18,857 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #1,105 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #14,949 of 17,297. 487 babies were born in 1954, its single highest year.
Where does Dona sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dona ranks #1,105 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #14,949 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Dona most popular?
Dona was most popular in the 1950s decade with 3,910 total births. The single peak year was 1954.
Where is Dona most popular?
The top states for the name Dona are California (1,562 births), New York (929 births), Texas (904 births).
How long has the name Dona been used?
The SSA has tracked Dona since 1880 -- 146 years through the most recent 2025 data.
What names are similar to Dona?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Donna, Donnie, Donald, Donita, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Dona's data

  • Dona's decade-level peak was the 1950s (3,910 total births); usage has since declined to 18 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Donas (1,562 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 Dona

Nearby Names Like Dona

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dona

Names with a similar popularity rank to Dona

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Dona: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

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 Dona 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.