Danald
Disputed origin blend of Celtic and Anglo-Saxon elements with no agreed meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Danald. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Danald today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Danald births was 1965 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Danald. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Danald is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Danalds were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Danald. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1965
5 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1965 SSA rank
#4,014
Tracked since 1965
Popularity
Danald: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Danald by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Danald during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Danald
The given name Danald is believed to have originated in the ancient Germanic language family, with roots that can be traced back to the early medieval period. The name is thought to be a combination of the Germanic elements "dan" and "ald," which roughly translate to "brave" and "old" or "venerable," respectively.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Danald can be found in the Annales Regni Francorum, a medieval chronicle that chronicles the reigns of the Frankish kings from the late 8th to the early 9th century. In this text, a nobleman by the name of Danald is mentioned as a participant in a military campaign against the Avars, a nomadic people who inhabited parts of Central Europe during that time.
Danald also appears in several ancient Norse sagas and mythological texts, where it is often associated with figures of strength and valor. In the Völsunga saga, a famous Icelandic epic, a character named Danald is depicted as a fearless warrior who plays a pivotal role in the narrative's climactic battle sequences.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Danald was particularly popular among the nobility and warrior classes of various Germanic tribes and kingdoms. Notable historical figures who bore this name include Danald of Saxony (c. 920-986), a powerful Saxon nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the consolidation of the Holy Roman Empire under Otto I.
Another prominent figure was Danald the Red (c. 1050-1118), a Danish Viking chieftain and explorer who is credited with leading one of the earliest Scandinavian expeditions to the coast of North America, several centuries before the voyages of Christopher Columbus.
During the Renaissance period, the name Danald experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in the German-speaking regions of Europe. One notable bearer of the name was Danald von Württemberg (1516-1568), a German nobleman and military leader who fought in the Schmalkaldic War and later served as a field marshal in the Imperial Army.
In more recent centuries, the name Danald has become less common, though it has continued to appear sporadically throughout various cultures and regions. One notable modern figure was Danald MacKenzie (1870-1936), a Scottish linguist and explorer who made significant contributions to the study of Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan languages.
People
Danald + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Danald as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Danald: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Danald?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Danald going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Danald a common name?
We classify Danald as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Danald most popular?
The single biggest year for Danald was 1965, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Danald is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Danald in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Danald a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Danald in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Danald still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Danald in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Danald can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Danald?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.