Girls' name · since 1880
Donna
Donna has 831,641 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1959 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #23 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,963 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 831,641
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Yes -- Donna is the #1963 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 831,641 recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Donna recorded 831,641 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #1963 nationally today, ahead of 89% of girls, peaking in the 1950s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #23 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #1,963 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 831,641 born since 1880
- 1950s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Donna ranks #23 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,963 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 831,641 born since 1880, peaking in the 1950s.
- #23 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #1,963 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 831,641
- born since 1880
- 1950s
- peak decade
Donna's 831,641 recorded births place it above 99.96% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Donna compares
831,641 Top 1% higher than 99% 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
Donna's all-time total is 2,212x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Donna | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 831,641 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 36,468 | 21 | 19,840 |
Donna's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Donna's full recorded timeline at 1953, 58% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 42% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1881, with just 15 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1959 peak of 36,468 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Donna popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1959)
- 36,468
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Donna popularity over time - boys
2,233 total births recorded since 1924 (Donna as boys' name)
Donna by decade
1950s is the heaviest window (270,338 births, 33% of the file).
1950s was Donna's strongest decade.
270,338 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 33% of all-time use.
Donna births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 265
1880s
265 births
- 1890s 440
1890s
440 births
- 1900s 790
1900s
790 births
- 1910s 4,293
1910s
4,293 births
- 1920s 26,160
1920s
26,160 births
- 1930s 78,846
1930s
78,846 births
- 1940s
1940s
165,523 births
- 1950s
1950s
270,338 births
- 1960s
1960s
213,468 births
- 1970s 47,342
1970s
47,342 births
- 1980s 13,044
1980s
13,044 births
- 1990s 5,662
1990s
5,662 births
- 2000s 3,186
2000s
3,186 births
- 2010s 1,641
2010s
1,641 births
- 2020s 643
2020s
643 births
What this shows Peak: 1950s at 270,338 births (33% of all-time use).
How Donna 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 Donna's total volume
Donna by state
Where Donna concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 68,416 | 8.2% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 62,223 | 7.5% |
| #3 | California | | 52,401 | 6.3% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 48,352 | 5.8% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 46,362 | 5.6% |
| #6 | Texas | | 37,590 | 4.5% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 35,211 | 4.2% |
| #8 | Massachusetts | | 31,610 | 3.8% |
68,416 of 831,641 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? ▼
Where does Donna sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Donna most popular? ▼
Where is Donna most popular? ▼
How long has the name Donna been used? ▼
What names are similar to Donna? ▼
What to do with Donna's data
- Donna's decade-level peak was the 1950s (270,338 total births); usage has since declined to 643 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Donnas (68,416 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Donna
Nearby Names Like Donna
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Donna
Compare Donna side by side: Donna vs Dona Donna vs Donnie Donna vs Donald
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Donna
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Donna: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1959)
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 Donna 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.