US rank #1934 Girls' name Peak 1959 831,536 births

Donna — #1934 US girls' name

831,536 babies named Donna in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1959. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s2651890s4401900s7901910s42931920s261601930s788461940s1655231950s2703331960s2134671970s473441980s130441990s56632000s31852010s16402020s543
#1934
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 89% of names given to girls today.

1950s
Peak decade

33% of everyone ever named Donna was born in this single decade.

1959
Single peak year

36,469 babies were named Donna in 1959 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Donna

The Social Security Administration has registered 831,536 babies named Donna between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Donna currently holds the #1934 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1959, when 36,469 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Donna performed strongest in the 1950s, accumulating 270,333 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Donna shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in New York, which accounts for 68,410 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Pennsylvania and California. In total, SSA state-level files list Donna in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Donna 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 831,536 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.

Donna at a glance

Outside the top 1,000

Total births

831,536

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1959

36,469 births that year

Strongest decade: 1950s

Current rank

#1,934

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Donna popularity over time — girls

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

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1959)
36,469
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,00040,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 17

Donna popularity over time — boys

2,233 total births recorded since 1924 (Donna as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 2,233 births
020406080100 199319811972196319541945193619271924 10

Donna by decade

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

Peak: 1950s
Peak decade
1950s
270,333 births that decade — 33% of Donna's all-time total
1880s2651890s4401900s7901910s42931920s261601930s788461940s1655231950s2703331960s2134671970s473441980s130441990s56632000s31852010s16402020s543

Donna by state

Where Donna concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Donna
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 New York
68,410 8.2%
#2 Pennsylvania
62,222 7.5%
#3 California
52,391 6.3%
#4 Illinois
48,347 5.8%
#5 Ohio
46,362 5.6%
#6 Texas
37,574 4.5%
#7 Michigan
35,205 4.2%
#8 Massachusetts
31,608 3.8%
New York share of Donna's total US births 8.2%
Even split

68,410 of 831,536 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Donna appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Donna?
831,536 babies have been named Donna since 1880. It currently ranks #1934 among girls. The peak year was 1959 with 36,469 births.
When was Donna most popular?
Donna was most popular in the 1950s decade with 270,333 total births. The single peak year was 1959.
Where is Donna most popular?
The top states for the name Donna are New York (68,410 births), Pennsylvania (62,222 births), California (52,391 births).
How long has the name Donna been used?
Donna has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Donna?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Dona, Donnie, Donald, Donita, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Donna

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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.