Dontario
A masculine given name of unknown origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 64 living Americans carry the first name Dontario. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dontario today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dontario births was 1994 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dontario. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dontario. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
64
~ 1 in 5,355,537 Americans
Peak year
1994
11 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2001 SSA rank
#11,043
Tracked since 1984
Popularity
Dontario: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dontario from the 1980s through to the 2000s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 50 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
Dontario 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 Dontario 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 Dontario
The given name Dontario is a relatively modern invention, with no verifiable roots in ancient languages or cultures. It appears to be a unique combination of sounds and syllables that may have been created as a creative variant of more traditional names.
Despite its lack of historical origins, there have been a few notable individuals who have borne the name Dontario over the past century. One of the earliest recorded instances was Dontario Wilkins, an American jazz saxophonist born in 1921 in Chicago, Illinois. He performed with various big bands and ensembles during the swing era and later became a respected music educator.
Another Dontario of note was Dontario Pearson, a professional basketball player from the United States. Born in 1983, he played in several international leagues, including stints in Germany, Italy, and Argentina, during the 2000s and early 2010s.
In the realm of literature, there was Dontario Simmons, an African American novelist and poet from Detroit, Michigan. Born in 1961, he published several works that explored themes of urban life and racial identity, earning critical acclaim for his vivid storytelling and lyrical prose.
The name Dontario has also been found in the world of sports. Dontario Poe, born in 1990, was a defensive lineman who played college football for the University of Memphis and briefly pursued a professional career in the National Football League (NFL).
Lastly, one of the more recent individuals with the name Dontario is Dontario Drummond, a Canadian actor and filmmaker born in 1985. He has appeared in various television shows and independent films, often portraying characters from diverse backgrounds and challenging stereotypes.
While the name Dontario may lack deep historical roots, these individuals have contributed to shaping its contemporary identity and creating a legacy for others who may bear this unique moniker in the future.
People
Dontario + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dontario 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
Dontario: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dontario?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 64 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dontario 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 5,355,537 US residents.
Is Dontario a common name?
We classify Dontario as "Very Rare". It ranks above 58% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 66 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dontario most popular?
The single biggest year for Dontario was 1994, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dontario is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dontario in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dontario a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dontario 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 Dontario still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dontario 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 Dontario 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Dontario?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.