US rank #672 Boys' name Peak 1934 1,414,419 births

Donald — #672 US boys' name

1,414,419 babies named Donald in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1934. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s5481890s17861900s46321910s570021920s1918171930s2837161940s2478291950s2735761960s1726201970s824401980s508451990s267562000s120052010s67082020s2139
#672
of 14,243 boys in use

More common than 95% of names given to boys today.

1930s
Peak decade

20% of everyone ever named Donald was born in this single decade.

1934
Single peak year

30,407 babies were named Donald in 1934 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Donald

The Social Security Administration has registered 1,414,419 babies named Donald between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a boy's name, Donald currently holds the #672 rank among boys for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1934, when 30,407 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Donald performed strongest in the 1930s, accumulating 283,716 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Donald shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 105,196 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and Ohio. In total, SSA state-level files list Donald in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Donald in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 1,414,419 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Donald at a glance

Top 1,000 boys' name

Total births

1,414,419

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1934

30,407 births that year

Strongest decade: 1930s

Current rank

#672

Among boys

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Donald popularity over time — boys

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 boys' name
Peak year (1934)
30,407
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,00040,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 46

Donald popularity over time — girls

5,561 total births recorded since 1890 (Donald as girls' name)

Unisex variant — 5,561 births
-50050100150200 200419861975196419531942193119201890 5

Donald by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1930s
Peak decade
1930s
283,716 births that decade — 20% of Donald's all-time total
1880s5481890s17861900s46321910s570021920s1918171930s2837161940s2478291950s2735761960s1726201970s824401980s508451990s267562000s120052010s67082020s2139

Donald by state

Where Donald concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Donald
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
105,196 7.4%
#2 Pennsylvania
102,162 7.2%
#3 Ohio
95,617 6.8%
#4 Illinois
90,371 6.4%
#5 California
85,498 6.0%
#6 Michigan
77,057 5.4%
#7 Texas
52,544 3.7%
#8 Indiana
46,808 3.3%
New York share of Donald's total US births 7.4%
Even split

105,196 of 1,414,419 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Donald appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Donald?
1,414,419 babies have been named Donald since 1880. It currently ranks #672 among boys. The peak year was 1934 with 30,407 births.
When was Donald most popular?
Donald was most popular in the 1930s decade with 283,716 total births. The single peak year was 1934.
Where is Donald most popular?
The top states for the name Donald are New York (105,196 births), Pennsylvania (102,162 births), Ohio (95,617 births).
How long has the name Donald been used?
Donald has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Donald?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Don, Donovan, Donnie, Donte, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for boys.

Keep exploring Donald

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.