Donald
The story
Donald has been a Scottish name for more than a thousand years, from the Gaelic Domhnall, borne by ninth-century kings of the Scots and Picts and carried ever since by Clan Donald, one of the largest of the Scottish clans. Long at home in Scotland, it spread through the English-speaking world in the twentieth century, and in America it climbed for decades, reaching sixth place in 1934. That same year a sailor-suited duck made his film debut in The Wise Little Hen; the name was already at its height, and the duck rode the wave rather than raising it. The decades since have traced a long, steady descent in the charts. A name that once crowned kings has outlived fashion before, and it keeps its history either way.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Donald peaked in the 1930s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
361 people · the #16,747 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 500,000 · median age 40
Among people named Donald living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Donald
People given the name Donald in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1979. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Donald deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Donald truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Donald fits with your family’s names and surname.
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