Dontonio
Masculine name likely derived from an Italian dialectal spelling of Antonio or Anthony.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Dontonio. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dontonio today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dontonio births was 1994 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dontonio. 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 Dontonio. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1994
11 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
1994 SSA rank
#5,190
Tracked since 1994
Popularity
Dontonio: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Dontonio 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 Dontonio during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11 | 0 | 11 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Dontonio
The name Dontonio has its origins in the ancient Etruscan language, spoken by the Etruscan civilization that flourished in what is now modern-day Italy between the 8th and 3rd centuries BC. It is derived from the Etruscan word "donto," which means "gift" or "offering," and was likely given to children as a symbolic wish for good fortune and prosperity.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dontonio can be found in the Etruscan inscriptions discovered in the necropolis of Cerveteri, a ancient city located about 30 kilometers northwest of Rome. These inscriptions, dating back to the 6th century BC, mention several individuals with variations of the name, including Dontonios, Dontonias, and Dontonia.
The name Dontonio gained further prominence during the Roman Empire, as the Etruscans became assimilated into Roman culture. Several notable Romans bore the name, including Dontonio Quintus, a prominent senator and orator who lived in the 1st century AD, and Dontonio Marcellus, a celebrated military commander who played a significant role in the Punic Wars against Carthage in the 3rd century BC.
In the Middle Ages, the name Dontonio appeared in various religious texts and chronicles, particularly those associated with the Catholic Church. One notable figure was Dontonio di Assisi, a 13th-century Franciscan friar who was a close companion of Saint Francis of Assisi and credited with authoring several spiritual treatises.
During the Renaissance, the name Dontonio experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy. Dontonio Boccaccio, a renowned 14th-century writer and poet, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the name from this period. His literary masterpiece, the Decameron, is considered a seminal work of Italian literature and had a profound influence on subsequent generations of writers.
Another notable Dontonio from the Renaissance was Dontonio Pollaiuolo, a 15th-century Italian artist and sculptor known for his contributions to the Early Renaissance style. His most celebrated works include the bronze sculptures of Hercules and Antaeus and the tomb of Sixtus IV in St. Peter's Basilica.
People
Dontonio + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dontonio 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
Dontonio: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dontonio?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dontonio 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Dontonio a common name?
We classify Dontonio as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dontonio most popular?
The single biggest year for Dontonio was 1994, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dontonio is about 31 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 Dontonio in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dontonio a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dontonio 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 Dontonio still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dontonio 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 Dontonio 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 share the name Dontonio?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.