Dona
A feminine given name of Spanish origin meaning "lady" or "noblewoman".
Name Census estimates that about 8,105 living Americans carry the first name Dona. It is a predominantly female name (99.1% of registrations). The average person named Dona today is around 68 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dona births was 1954 (492 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dona. 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 Dona with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Dona is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 175 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • The typical person named Dona is about 68 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Donas were born before 1968.
People living today
8.1K
~ 1 in 42,289 Americans
Peak year
1954
492 babies that year
Average age
68
years old
1982 SSA rank
#6,622
Tracked since 1880
Census
Dona in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 12,121 people with the first name Dona, which placed it at #2,181 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
#2,181
National first-name rank
People counted
12K
12,121 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
4.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
83.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dona
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dona is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Dona 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 Dona at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.8% · 10,155
- Black or African American5.3% · 639
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 454
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 448
- Two or more races2.7% · 333
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 92
Gender
Gender distribution for Dona
Out of the 19,027 babies given the name Dona since 1880, 99.1% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Dona as a male name
- Ranked #6,622 in 1982
- 5 male births in 1982
- Peak: 1928 (12 births)
Dona as a female name
- Ranked #13,898 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1954 (487 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dona leans strongly female. 11,993 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 128 male bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Dona: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dona from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 3,943 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dona 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 Dona during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 46 states and territories. California, New York, Texas recorded the most babies named Dona, while Vermont, South Carolina, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 297 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dona
The name Dona has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "domina," which means "lady" or "mistress." The name was initially used as a title of respect for women of high social status or nobility.
In the early centuries of the Christian era, the name Dona gained popularity among the Roman aristocracy and was often given to daughters of prominent families. As Christianity spread throughout Europe, the name became associated with the veneration of saints and the Virgin Mary, who was sometimes referred to as "Dona Maria."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dona dates back to the 6th century, when a Roman noblewoman named Dona Placidia lived during the reign of Emperor Honorius. She played a significant role in the political affairs of the Western Roman Empire and was highly respected for her piety and influence.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Dona continued to be used among the nobility and upper classes in various parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy. It was also adopted by some religious orders and appeared in numerous chronicles and historical records.
In the 13th century, Dona Beatriz de Castilla, a Spanish princess, became the Queen of Portugal through her marriage to King Afonso III. Her name and legacy are remembered in Portuguese history as a promoter of culture and the arts.
During the Renaissance period, Dona Laura Battiferri Ammannati, an Italian poet and scholar born in 1496, gained fame for her literary works and intellectual contributions. She was celebrated for her mastery of both Latin and Italian poetry.
In the 17th century, Dona Maria de Guzmán, a Spanish noblewoman and the mistress of King Philip IV, wielded significant political influence and is remembered for her involvement in court intrigues and scandals.
Another notable figure was Dona Gracia Nasi, a Jewish businesswoman and philanthropist from the 16th century, who played a vital role in supporting and protecting Jewish communities in the Ottoman Empire and other parts of Europe.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who bore the name Dona, reflecting its long-standing association with nobility, religious significance, and cultural prominence in various regions.
People
Dona + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dona 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
Dona: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dona?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,105 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dona 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 42,289 US residents.
Is Dona a common name?
We classify Dona as "Rare". It ranks above 97.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 19,027 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dona most popular?
The single biggest year for Dona was 1954, when 492 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dona is about 68 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dona in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 12,121 people with the name Dona, or 4.01 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,181 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 Dona 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 Dona?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dona leans strongly female. 11,993 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 128 male 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 Dona?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dona is White at 83.8%. The next largest groups are Black (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Dona most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.8% (10,155 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 Dona in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dona a female name?
Yes, 99.1% of people registered as Dona in the SSA data are female. 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 Dona still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dona 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 Dona 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 common is the name Dona?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.