Donae
A feminine variant name of Latin origin meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 197 living Americans carry the first name Donae. It is a predominantly female name (97.0% of registrations). The average person named Donae today is around 28 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donae births was 2004 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donae. 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 Donae with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
197
~ 1 in 1,739,870 Americans
Peak year
2004
15 babies that year
Average age
28
years old
1974 SSA rank
#4,782
Tracked since 1974
Census
Donae in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 282 people with the first name Donae, which placed it at #30,717 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
#30,717
National first-name rank
People counted
282
282 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donae
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donae is Black at 68.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Donae 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 Donae at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.1% · 192
- White17.4% · 49
- Two or more races6.4% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Donae
Donae leans heavily female at 97.0% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Donae as a male name
- Ranked #4,782 in 1974
- 6 male births in 1974
- Peak: 1974 (6 births)
Donae as a female name
- Ranked #16,946 in 2016
- 5 female births in 2016
- Peak: 2004 (15 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donae leans strongly female. 249 people counted with this name were female (88.6%), compared with 32 male bearers (11.4%).
Popularity
Donae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donae from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donae 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 Donae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donae
The name Donae is derived from the Latin word "donare," which means "to give" or "to present." It is believed to have originated during the Roman Empire, a time when Latin was widely spoken throughout the Mediterranean region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Donae can be found in ancient Roman texts, where it was used as a feminine name. It is likely that the name was given to girls born into families who valued the concept of generosity and gift-giving.
During the Middle Ages, the name Donae gained popularity among Christian communities, particularly in Europe. It was often associated with the idea of giving oneself to God or to a religious cause. Several historical records from this period mention nuns and religious women bearing the name Donae.
In the Renaissance era, the name Donae became more widespread and was used by families across various social classes. One notable figure from this time was Donae de' Medici (1469-1516), a member of the famous Medici family in Florence, Italy. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of Renaissance artists and scholars.
Another prominent individual with the name Donae was Donae Bragança (1638-1683), a Portuguese princess who later became the Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland as the wife of King Charles II. Her influence and cultural impact during the Restoration period have been well documented.
In the 18th century, Donae Cavendish (1708-1762), a British aristocrat and writer, gained recognition for her literary works and her involvement in the intellectual circles of her time.
During the 19th century, the name Donae was particularly popular in parts of Europe, including France and Italy. One notable figure was Donae Durand (1830-1899), a French painter and sculptor who was celebrated for her portraits and allegorical works.
As the name Donae continued to spread across different cultures and regions, it took on various spellings and variations, such as Donae, Donaea, and Donaia. However, the underlying meaning of "to give" or "to present" remained consistent throughout its history.
People
Donae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donae 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
Donae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 197 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donae 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 1,739,870 US residents.
Is Donae a common name?
We classify Donae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 203 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donae most popular?
The single biggest year for Donae was 2004, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donae is about 28 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donae in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 282 people with the name Donae, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #30,717 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 Donae 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 Donae?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donae leans strongly female. 249 people counted with this name were female (88.6%), compared with 32 male bearers (11.4%). 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 Donae?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donae is Black at 68.1%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Two or More Races (6.4%). 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 Donae most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Donae in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (192 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 Donae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donae a female name?
Yes, 97.0% of people registered as Donae 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 Donae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donae 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 Donae 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 Donae?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Donae at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.