Donell
Donell was given to 13 boys in 2025, #6,550 among boys’ names; 5,418 Americans have been recorded with it since 1915 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 4,350 Americans named Donell and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (80% of everyone recorded); the median is 49 years old and half are between 35 and 62.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Donell by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Donell?
#6,550 among boys’ names, 2025
Donell fell from #5,111 in 2015 to #6,550 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 9.4 to 7.6 per million.
110 babies in 1959, the peak
Donell peaked in 1959, when 110 babies were given it (99 boys, #768 among boys’ names). The 13 births of 2025 are 12% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | under 5 | 13 | #6,550 | |
| 2024 | under 5 | 8 | #9,218 | |
| 2023 | under 5 | 12 | #6,998 | |
| 2022 | under 5 | 8 | #9,203 | |
| 2021 | under 5 | 11 | #7,218 | |
| 2020 | under 5 | 13 | #6,383 | |
| 2019 | under 5 | 15 | #5,890 | |
| 2018 | under 5 | 17 | #5,375 | |
| 2017 | under 5 | 15 | #5,865 | |
| 2016 | under 5 | 9 | #8,319 |
Every recorded year (108)
| Year | Girls | Girls’ rank | Boys | Boys’ rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | under 5 | 18 | #5,111 | |
| 2014 | under 5 | 27 | #3,817 | |
| 2013 | under 5 | 21 | #4,503 | |
| 2012 | under 5 | 26 | #3,925 | |
| 2011 | under 5 | 24 | #4,132 | |
| 2010 | under 5 | 37 | #3,088 | |
| 2009 | under 5 | 25 | #4,066 | |
| 2008 | under 5 | 39 | #3,018 | |
| 2007 | under 5 | 44 | #2,732 | |
| 2006 | under 5 | 48 | #2,519 | |
| 2005 | under 5 | 51 | #2,301 | |
| 2004 | under 5 | 40 | #2,652 | |
| 2003 | under 5 | 33 | #2,941 | |
| 2002 | under 5 | 47 | #2,224 | |
| 2001 | under 5 | 47 | #2,184 | |
| 2000 | under 5 | 68 | #1,682 | |
| 1999 | under 5 | 42 | #2,206 | |
| 1998 | under 5 | 40 | #2,242 | |
| 1997 | under 5 | 49 | #1,891 | |
| 1996 | under 5 | 36 | #2,259 | |
| 1995 | under 5 | 39 | #2,105 | |
| 1994 | under 5 | 52 | #1,713 | |
| 1993 | under 5 | 54 | #1,635 | |
| 1992 | under 5 | 63 | #1,453 | |
| 1991 | under 5 | 66 | #1,395 | |
| 1990 | 6 | #11,801 | 74 | #1,284 |
| 1989 | under 5 | 60 | #1,410 | |
| 1988 | under 5 | 63 | #1,294 | |
| 1987 | 7 | #9,030 | 63 | #1,221 |
| 1986 | 11 | #6,280 | 68 | #1,144 |
| 1985 | under 5 | 81 | #1,013 | |
| 1984 | 12 | #5,630 | 67 | #1,099 |
| 1983 | 11 | #5,918 | 77 | #1,008 |
| 1982 | 9 | #7,032 | 74 | #1,060 |
| 1981 | 14 | #5,040 | 81 | #1,009 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,617 | 81 | #1,006 |
| 1979 | 13 | #5,168 | 83 | #974 |
| 1978 | 20 | #3,665 | 81 | #964 |
| 1977 | 14 | #4,715 | 94 | #874 |
| 1976 | 10 | #5,693 | 87 | #890 |
| 1975 | 15 | #4,201 | 80 | #919 |
| 1974 | 13 | #4,523 | 83 | #886 |
| 1973 | 13 | #4,420 | 79 | #898 |
| 1972 | 16 | #3,756 | 89 | #853 |
| 1971 | 17 | #3,692 | 72 | #960 |
| 1970 | 16 | #3,755 | 64 | #1,020 |
| 1969 | 19 | #3,121 | 67 | #933 |
| 1968 | 24 | #2,562 | 78 | #830 |
| 1967 | 17 | #3,112 | 64 | #901 |
| 1966 | 19 | #2,866 | 71 | #863 |
| 1965 | 16 | #3,172 | 78 | #832 |
| 1964 | 13 | #3,743 | 80 | #849 |
| 1963 | 16 | #3,213 | 68 | #906 |
| 1962 | 23 | #2,556 | 69 | #914 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,090 | 61 | #992 |
| 1960 | 16 | #3,119 | 88 | #814 |
| 1959 | 11 | #3,880 | 99 | #768 |
| 1958 | 14 | #3,265 | 69 | #908 |
| 1957 | 13 | #3,358 | 89 | #795 |
| 1956 | 15 | #3,082 | 93 | #763 |
| 1955 | 17 | #2,750 | 77 | #838 |
| 1954 | 16 | #2,805 | 74 | #843 |
| 1953 | 9 | #4,013 | 74 | #836 |
| 1952 | 12 | #3,241 | 72 | #828 |
| 1951 | 12 | #3,144 | 58 | #922 |
| 1950 | 8 | #4,042 | 47 | #1,026 |
| 1949 | 10 | #3,440 | 51 | #973 |
| 1948 | 6 | #4,806 | 32 | #1,284 |
| 1947 | 10 | #3,511 | 36 | #1,219 |
| 1946 | 5 | #5,129 | 30 | #1,279 |
| 1945 | 7 | #3,754 | 23 | #1,388 |
| 1944 | under 5 | 22 | #1,450 | |
| 1943 | under 5 | 14 | #2,002 | |
| 1942 | 7 | #3,832 | 12 | #2,177 |
| 1941 | under 5 | 25 | #1,341 | |
| 1940 | 5 | #4,508 | 30 | #1,234 |
| 1939 | under 5 | 23 | #1,405 | |
| 1938 | under 5 | 24 | #1,374 | |
| 1937 | under 5 | 15 | #1,849 | |
| 1936 | under 5 | 13 | #1,984 | |
| 1935 | under 5 | 19 | #1,604 | |
| 1934 | under 5 | 31 | #1,195 | |
| 1933 | under 5 | 12 | #2,123 | |
| 1932 | 5 | #4,571 | 22 | #1,520 |
| 1931 | under 5 | 17 | #1,789 | |
| 1930 | under 5 | 14 | #2,103 | |
| 1929 | under 5 | 15 | #2,025 | |
| 1928 | under 5 | 10 | #2,709 | |
| 1927 | under 5 | 14 | #2,220 | |
| 1926 | under 5 | 18 | #1,852 | |
| 1925 | under 5 | 9 | #2,981 | |
| 1924 | under 5 | 12 | #2,510 | |
| 1923 | under 5 | 9 | #3,008 | |
| 1922 | under 5 | 12 | #2,521 | |
| 1920 | under 5 | 8 | #3,282 | |
| 1917 | under 5 | 8 | #3,005 | |
| 1916 | under 5 | 5 | #4,070 | |
| 1915 | under 5 | 8 | #2,881 |
Ranks: girls’ names and boys’ names ranked separately in each year’s SSA file; “under 5” is a year SSA did not list the name for that sex.
Is Donell a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 5,418 Americans recorded as Donell, 11% are girls and 89% boys. In 2025 it went to 13 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Donell: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Donell, and how old are they?
4,350 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 80% of the 5,418 Americans ever recorded as Donell. The median Donell alive today is 49 years old; half are between 35 and 62.
The 2020 Census counted 3,074 people named Donell (504 women and girls, 2,570 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 4,532 born in the U.S. The Census count is 32% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 81 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,060 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,340 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,030 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 648 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 186 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Donell born?
The states with the most babies named Donell are Illinois, New York and California, with 43% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 329 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| New York | 283 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| California | 212 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| Mississippi | 130 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Texas | 125 | not ranked | 0.3× |
| Florida | 119 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Georgia | 108 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 91 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 90 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 76 | not ranked | 0.3× |
Where Donell is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Donell is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1915 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Donell with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 27,356 babies since 1880, Donell is the second most given (20% of them). In 2025 it was given to 13 of their 44 babies (30%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Donell
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Donell and names like it
- Compare Donell and DonnellBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sDonell peaked in 1959.
- Illinois’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Donell since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Donell.
- The names of Generation XMost people named Donell alive today were born 1965-1980.
- Names starting with DMost given first.