Don
A masculine name of Spanish origin meaning "lord" or "master".
Name Census estimates that about 87,116 living Americans carry the first name Don. It is a predominantly male name (99.3% of registrations). The average person named Don today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Don births was 1946 (4,131 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Don. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Don with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Don is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 1,207 girls registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Don is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dons were born before 1969.
- • Compared to the 1940s, recent registration numbers for Don have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
87K
~ 1 in 3,934 Americans
Peak year
1946
4,131 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
2024 SSA rank
#1,789
Tracked since 1880
Census
Don in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 109,811 people with the first name Don, which placed it at #513 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#513
National first-name rank
People counted
110K
109,811 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
36.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Don
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Don is White at 78.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Don described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Don at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.7% · 86,438
- Black or African American9.6% · 10,538
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.2% · 5,701
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 3,447
- Two or more races2.5% · 2,757
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 930
Gender
Gender distribution for Don
Out of the 168,745 babies given the name Don since 1880, 99.3% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Don as a male name
- Ranked #1,789 in 2024
- 91 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1946 (4,111 births)
Don as a female name
- Ranked #13,888 in 1992
- 5 female births in 1992
- Peak: 1931 (40 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Don leans strongly male. 108,576 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 1,242 female bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Don: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Don from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 36,420 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1940s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Don 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 Don during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Don, while Vermont, New Hampshire, Rhode Island recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 3,177 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Don
The given name Don has its origins in the Late Latin word "dominus", which means "lord" or "master". This name was initially used as a title of respect for men of high rank in ancient Rome and later in medieval Europe.
During the Middle Ages, the name Don became a common honorific title used in several European countries, particularly in Spain, Italy, and Portugal. It was often used to address nobles, clergymen, and other individuals of notable standing.
The name Don has roots in the Spanish language, where it served as an honorific title for men of noble or distinguished status. In Spain, it was frequently used in combination with a person's given name, such as "Don Juan" or "Don Quixote".
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Don can be found in the epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid" (The Poem of the Cid), written in the 12th century. This work chronicles the life of the Castilian nobleman Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar, also known as El Cid (c. 1043-1099), who was often referred to as "Don Rodrigo".
Another notable historical figure who bore the name Don was Don Juan Tenorio, a legendary Spanish nobleman and notorious seducer of women. He was immortalized in literary works, such as the play "El Burlador de Sevilla y Convidado de Piedra" (The Trickster of Seville and the Stone Guest) by Tirso de Molina (1579-1648).
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook the iconic character Don Quixote, the protagonist of the novel "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha" (The Ingenious Nobleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616). This work is considered one of the greatest novels ever written and has had a profound impact on literature worldwide.
Another famous historical figure who bore the name Don was Don Giovanni, the central character of the opera "Don Giovanni" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). This opera, based on the legend of Don Juan, explores themes of seduction, betrayal, and moral consequences.
In the world of art, the renowned Spanish painter Diego Velázquez (1599-1660) is known for his masterpiece "Las Meninas" (The Ladies-in-Waiting), which features numerous individuals, including Don Diego del Corral y Arellano, the royal chamberlain depicted in the painting.
While the name Don has its roots in Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy, it has also gained popularity in other parts of the world due to cultural influences and migrations. However, its historical origins and associations with nobility, respect, and literary works remain deeply embedded in its meaning and significance.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Don
People
Don + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Don 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
Don: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Don?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 87,116 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Don 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 3,934 US residents.
Is Don a common name?
We classify Don as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 168,745 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Don most popular?
The single biggest year for Don was 1946, when 4,131 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Don is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Don in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 109,811 people with the name Don, or 36.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #513 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Don in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Don?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Don leans strongly male. 108,576 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 1,242 female bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Don?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Don is White at 78.7%. The next largest groups are Black (9.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Don most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Don in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.7% (86,438 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Don in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Don a male name?
Yes, 99.3% of people registered as Don 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 Don still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Don 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 Don 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.
How many people have Don as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Don, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.