Donia
A feminine Arabic name meaning "worldly" or "related to this life".
Name Census estimates that about 837 living Americans carry the first name Donia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Donia today is around 41 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donia births was 1970 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donia. 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 Donia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
837
~ 1 in 409,503 Americans
Peak year
1970
38 babies that year
Average age
41
years old
2024 SSA rank
#13,899
Tracked since 1881
Census
Donia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,102 people with the first name Donia, which placed it at #11,576 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
#11,576
National first-name rank
People counted
1.1K
1,102 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donia is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (8.2%). 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 Donia 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 Donia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 727
- Black or African American16.3% · 180
- Hispanic or Latino8.2% · 90
- Two or more races6.0% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 3
Popularity
Donia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 181 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donia 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 Donia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Donia, while Texas, Pennsylvania, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donia
The name Donia has its origins in Greek culture and language. It is believed to be derived from the Greek word "donē," meaning "reed" or "cane." This connection to natural elements like reeds and canes suggests an association with growth, resilience, and adaptability.
In ancient Greek mythology, there are references to a nymph named Donia, who was believed to be a guardian of rivers and streams. This mythological figure may have influenced the use of the name in Greek society, symbolizing a connection to nature and the importance of water sources.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Donia can be traced back to ancient Greece, where it was used as a feminine given name. One of the earliest known individuals with this name was Donia of Corinth, a philosopher who lived in the 5th century BCE. She was renowned for her teachings on ethics and virtue.
In the Byzantine era, the name Donia gained popularity among Greek Christians. Saint Donia of Constantinople, who lived in the 9th century CE, was a prominent figure known for her charitable works and devotion to the church. Her legacy helped to solidify the name's association with virtue and compassion.
During the Renaissance period, the name Donia experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. Donia Bolgeri (1465-1549) was an Italian poet and humanist who gained recognition for her literary works and intellectual contributions.
In more recent history, Donia Samir Ghanem (1935-2021) was an Egyptian actress and dancer who achieved fame for her roles in numerous Egyptian films and television shows. Her artistic achievements and contributions to Egyptian culture have made her a notable figure associated with the name Donia.
Another notable individual with this name was Donia Massoud (1909-1992), a Lebanese-American scholar and writer. She was renowned for her studies on Arab culture and literature, and her work helped to bridge understanding between Western and Middle Eastern societies.
While the name Donia has Greek origins, it has transcended cultural boundaries and been embraced by various societies throughout history, with each individual adding their own unique imprint and legacy to the name's significance.
People
Donia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donia 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
Donia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 837 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donia 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 409,503 US residents.
Is Donia a common name?
We classify Donia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,214 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donia most popular?
The single biggest year for Donia was 1970, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donia is about 41 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,102 people with the name Donia, or 0.36 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #11,576 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 Donia 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 Donia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donia leans strongly female. 1,087 people counted with this name were female (98.8%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.2%). 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 Donia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donia is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (16.3%) and Hispanic (8.2%). 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 Donia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Donia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (727 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 Donia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donia 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 Donia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donia 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 Donia 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 share the name Donia?
Want to know how many Americans are named Donia? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.