Donnal
Anglicized form of the Gaelic name "Domhnall" meaning "world ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 30 living Americans carry the first name Donnal. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Donnal today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donnal births was 1960 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donnal. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Donnal is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Donnals were born before 1964.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Donnal. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
30
~ 1 in 11,425,145 Americans
Peak year
1960
8 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
1963 SSA rank
#4,207
Tracked since 1922
Popularity
Donnal: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donnal from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 18 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donnal 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 Donnal 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 Donnal
The name Donnal is a variant of the Irish name Domhnall, which is derived from the Gaelic words "domhan" meaning "world" and "all" meaning "mighty" or "powerful." This name originated in Ireland during the medieval period and was popular among the Celtic inhabitants of the region.
Donnal was a common name among the Irish nobility and ruling classes during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history, which mentions a Donnal mac Aedha who was the King of Aileach (a region in modern-day County Donegal) in the 8th century.
The name Donnal also appears in various Irish folklores and legends. In the legendary tale of the Battle of Magh Rath, a historical battle that took place in the 7th century, one of the central characters is a warrior named Donnal Derg (Donnal the Red).
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Donnal. One of the most prominent was Donnal O'Brien (1149-1194), who was the King of Thomond (a medieval kingdom in present-day County Clare, Ireland) and a member of the influential O'Brien dynasty. Another notable figure was Donnal Óg Ó Dálaigh (c. 1275-1347), an Irish poet and chief ollamh (a high-ranking scholar) of the Ó Dálaigh literary family.
In the 15th century, Donnal Cam O'Sullivan Beare (c. 1453-1548) was a celebrated Gaelic chieftain and Lord of Beara (a region in modern-day County Cork, Ireland), known for his resistance against English rule in Munster.
Moving into the 16th century, Donnal Spainneach (Donnal the Spaniard) (c. 1530-1605) was a renowned Irish soldier and mercenary who fought alongside the Spanish against the English in the Nine Years' War in Ireland.
While the name Donnal was primarily associated with Ireland and the Gaelic culture, it also found its way into other parts of Europe through Irish emigration and cultural exchange. However, its usage remained largely concentrated within the Irish diaspora and communities with Irish heritage.
People
Donnal + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donnal 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
Donnal: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donnal?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 30 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donnal 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 11,425,145 US residents.
Is Donnal a common name?
We classify Donnal as "Very Rare". It ranks above 46.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 54 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donnal most popular?
The single biggest year for Donnal was 1960, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donnal is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Donnal a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donnal 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.
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.