Donnavan
Noble and brave fighter; a Celtic Irish name meaning "strong king".
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the first name Donnavan. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Donnavan today is around 26 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donnavan births was 2000 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donnavan. 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
149
~ 1 in 2,300,365 Americans
Peak year
2000
11 babies that year
Average age
26
years old
2016 SSA rank
#12,710
Tracked since 1976
Popularity
Donnavan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donnavan from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 80 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donnavan 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 Donnavan 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 Donnavan
The name Donnavan is of Gaelic origin, deriving from the Irish Donndubhan, meaning "brown-haired chief" or "leader of the brown-haired people." This name was commonly used in Ireland, Scotland, and parts of northern England during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded use of the name Donnavan dates back to the 12th century. In the Annals of Ulster, a medieval chronicle, there is a reference to a Donnavan mac Gilla Pátraic, who was a prominent figure in the Kingdom of Ailech in the late 12th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the name Donnavan. One such figure was Donnavan O'Donnell, an Irish chieftain and lord of Tír Conaill (modern-day County Donegal) in the 16th century. He played a significant role in the Nine Years' War against the English and was ultimately forced into exile in Spain, where he died in 1628.
Another historical figure bearing the name Donnavan was Donnavan MacLean, a Scottish clan chief from the 17th century. He was known for his involvement in the Jacobite risings, supporting the cause of the deposed James VII of Scotland (also known as James II of England) and his descendants.
In the 18th century, there was Donnavan O'Rahilly, an Irish poet and scholar who was a prominent figure in the Irish literary revival. He was born in County Kerry in 1675 and is renowned for his contributions to preserving and promoting the Irish language and culture.
Lastly, Donnavan Kearney was an Irish-American soldier who fought in the American Civil War. Born in Ireland in 1837, he immigrated to the United States and served in the Union Army. He was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery at the Battle of Chaffin's Farm in 1864.
While the name Donnavan has Celtic roots, it has been adopted and used across various cultures and regions over the centuries, with its meaning and significance evolving with each bearer.
People
Donnavan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donnavan 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
Donnavan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donnavan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 149 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donnavan 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 2,300,365 US residents.
Is Donnavan a common name?
We classify Donnavan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 152 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donnavan most popular?
The single biggest year for Donnavan was 2000, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donnavan is about 26 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Donnavan a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donnavan 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.