Donyell
A variant of the masculine name Donnell, derived from Irish meaning "brown-haired chieftain".
Name Census estimates that about 850 living Americans carry the first name Donyell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 56.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Donyell today is around 42 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donyell births was 1974 (51 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donyell. 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
850
~ 1 in 403,240 Americans
Peak year
1974
51 babies that year
Average age
42
years old
2017 SSA rank
#12,790
Tracked since 1961
Census
Donyell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 652 people with the first name Donyell, which placed it at #17,077 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
#17,077
National first-name rank
People counted
652
652 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
85.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donyell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donyell is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Donyell 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 Donyell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.1% · 555
- White6.4% · 42
- Two or more races4.3% · 28
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Donyell
Donyell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 907 total registrations, 509 (56.1%) were male and 398 (43.9%) were female.
Donyell as a male name
- Ranked #12,790 in 2017
- 5 male births in 2017
- Peak: 1974 (32 births)
Donyell as a female name
- Ranked #16,062 in 2007
- 6 female births in 2007
- Peak: 1973 (21 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Donyell on both sides of the split. Of the 659 people counted with this name, 334 were male (50.7%) and 325 were female (49.3%).
Popularity
Donyell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donyell from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 356 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donyell 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 Donyell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donyells live
Origin
Meaning and history of Donyell
The name Donyell is a relatively modern name that does not have a long historical lineage. It is believed to be a variation or combination of the names Donald and Daniel, both of which have distinct origins and meanings.
Donald is a Scottish name derived from the Gaelic words "dòmhnall," which means "world ruler" or "world mighty." It was popularized by several Scottish kings and nobles throughout history, including Donald III of Scotland, who reigned from 1093 to 1097. The name Daniel, on the other hand, is of Hebrew origin, meaning "God is my judge." It is a biblical name, with its most notable bearer being the prophet Daniel from the Old Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Donyell is relatively recent, with no known historical figures bearing this name before the 20th century. However, there are a few notable individuals who have carried this name in more modern times.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Donyell was Donyell Marshall, an American professional basketball player born in 1973. He played in the NBA for several teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Golden State Warriors, and the Chicago Bulls.
Another notable Donyell is Donyell Malen, a Dutch professional footballer born in 1999. He currently plays as a forward for Borussia Dortmund in the German Bundesliga.
In the world of music, Donyell Taylor is an American singer and songwriter born in 1981. He is known for his work with the R&B group Blackstreet and has also released several solo albums.
Donyell Shelton is an American actor born in 1987, known for his roles in television series such as The Neighborhood and Insecure.
Finally, Donyell Digby is an American educator and author born in the mid-20th century. She has written several books on topics related to education and child development.
While the name Donyell may not have a rich historical background, it has gained some popularity in recent decades, particularly in various fields such as sports, entertainment, and academia. As a combination of two established names with significant cultural and religious significance, it carries a unique blend of meanings and origins.
People
Donyell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donyell 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
Donyell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donyell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 850 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donyell 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 403,240 US residents.
Is Donyell a common name?
We classify Donyell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 907 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donyell most popular?
The single biggest year for Donyell was 1974, when 51 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donyell is about 42 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donyell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 652 people with the name Donyell, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,077 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 Donyell 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 Donyell?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Donyell on both sides of the split. Of the 659 people counted with this name, 334 were male (50.7%) and 325 were female (49.3%). 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 Donyell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donyell is Black at 85.1%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Donyell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Donyell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.1% (555 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 Donyell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donyell a male name?
Yes, 56.1% of people registered as Donyell 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 Donyell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donyell 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 Donyell 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 common is the name Donyell?
Find out how many people have the name Donyell on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.