Donaciano
A masculine name of Latin origin meaning "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 326 living Americans carry the first name Donaciano. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Donaciano today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donaciano births was 1924 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donaciano. 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.
People living today
326
~ 1 in 1,051,394 Americans
Peak year
1924
18 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2021 SSA rank
#12,629
Tracked since 1884
Census
Donaciano in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,174 people with the first name Donaciano, which placed it at #11,075 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
#11,075
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,174 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donaciano
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donaciano is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Donaciano 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 Donaciano at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.8% · 1,148
- White1.5% · 18
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Donaciano: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donaciano from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 86 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donaciano 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 Donaciano during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donacianos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, New Mexico, California recorded the most babies named Donaciano, while California, New Mexico, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donaciano
The name Donaciano has its origins in Latin and is derived from the word "donatus," which means "gift" or "given." It is believed to have emerged during the Roman Empire period, around the 1st to 5th centuries AD.
One of the earliest known references to the name Donaciano can be found in the writings of Saint Donaciano, a 4th-century Christian martyr who was executed during the Diocletian persecution in the city of Nantes, France. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, with his feast day celebrated on May 17th.
In the Middle Ages, the name Donaciano was relatively common in parts of Europe, particularly in Spain and Portugal. During this period, it was often associated with individuals of noble or influential families. One notable figure was Donaciano García, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who lived in the 11th century and played a significant role in the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way into the ecclesiastical sphere. In the 16th century, Donaciano Muñoz was a Spanish Catholic priest and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Salamanca. His writings on moral theology and canon law were widely influential during the Counter-Reformation period.
In the arts and literature, the name Donaciano has been borne by several notable figures. Donaciano Vigil was a 19th-century Mexican writer and journalist who played a significant role in the development of Mexican literature. His works, including novels and short stories, often explored themes of social injustice and cultural identity.
Another prominent figure was Donaciano Garay, a 20th-century Argentine sculptor and painter known for his modernist works. His sculptures, which often depicted abstract human forms, can be found in public spaces throughout Argentina and other parts of South America.
While the name Donaciano is not as common today as it was in the past, it remains a part of cultural heritage, particularly in Spanish-speaking countries. Its historical significance and associations with notable individuals from various fields have contributed to its enduring legacy.
People
Donaciano + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donaciano 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
Donaciano: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donaciano?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 326 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donaciano 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 1,051,394 US residents.
Is Donaciano a common name?
We classify Donaciano as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 552 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donaciano most popular?
The single biggest year for Donaciano was 1924, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donaciano is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donaciano in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,174 people with the name Donaciano, or 0.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,075 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 Donaciano 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 Donaciano?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donaciano appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,172 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Donaciano?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donaciano is Hispanic at 97.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Donaciano most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Donaciano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.8% (1,148 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 Donaciano in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donaciano a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donaciano 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 Donaciano still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donaciano 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 Donaciano 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 are called Donaciano?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.