Dontavis
Masculine name with origins unknown but possibly a blend name.
Name Census estimates that about 351 living Americans carry the first name Dontavis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dontavis today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dontavis births was 1991 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dontavis. 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
351
~ 1 in 976,508 Americans
Peak year
1991
23 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2015 SSA rank
#12,564
Tracked since 1981
Census
Dontavis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 258 people with the first name Dontavis, which placed it at #32,555 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
#32,555
National first-name rank
People counted
258
258 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
92.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dontavis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dontavis is Black at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Dontavis 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 Dontavis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American92.6% · 239
- Two or more races3.9% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.9% · 5
- White1.6% · 4
Popularity
Dontavis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dontavis from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 175 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
Dontavis 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 Dontavis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dontavis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Georgia, Florida, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Dontavis, while North Carolina, Florida, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dontavis
The given name Dontavis appears to be a modern invention, likely originating in the United States within the past several decades. It does not have a clear etymological origin or direct lineage from any known language or culture.
One possible explanation for the name Dontavis is that it is a creative fusion or portmanteau of two existing names, perhaps combining elements of the names Don and Travis. However, this is speculative, as there is no definitive evidence on the true origin of this unique name.
Given its relatively recent emergence, there are no known historical references or appearances of the name Dontavis in ancient texts, religious scriptures, or historical records from bygone eras.
While the name Dontavis may not have a long historical pedigree, there are a handful of notable individuals who have borne this name in modern times. One example is Dontavis Sapp, an American professional basketball player born in 1991, who played in various leagues and teams throughout his career.
Another individual with the name Dontavis is Dontavis Walker, an American football player born in 1994, who played as a defensive back in college and briefly in the professional ranks.
Dontavis Klugh, born in 1992, is an American former college basketball player who played for the University of Mississippi.
Dontavis Lamar, born in 1982, is an American music artist and songwriter known for his work in the hip-hop and R&B genres.
Dontavis Johnson, born in 1988, is an American former college football player who played as a defensive back for the University of South Carolina.
While the name Dontavis may lack a rich historical narrative, it has gained a foothold in contemporary times, adorning individuals who have made their mark in various fields, from sports to entertainment.
People
Dontavis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dontavis 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
Dontavis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dontavis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 351 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dontavis 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 976,508 US residents.
Is Dontavis a common name?
We classify Dontavis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 359 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dontavis most popular?
The single biggest year for Dontavis was 1991, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dontavis is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dontavis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 258 people with the name Dontavis, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,555 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 Dontavis 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 Dontavis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dontavis appears almost entirely male. Of the 259 people counted with this name, 100.0% were male and only a very small share were female. 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 Dontavis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dontavis is Black at 92.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (1.9%). 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 Dontavis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dontavis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (239 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 Dontavis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dontavis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dontavis 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 Dontavis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dontavis 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 Dontavis 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 have Dontavis as a first name?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.