ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1959 Peak Year #5 Peak Rank 832K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Donna What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Donna is an English-language feminine first name meaning 'woman' in modern Italian, and 'lady' or 'mistress' in classical Italian. The original meaning is closer to 'lady of the home' and was a title of respect in Italy, equivalent to Don for gentlemen or lord. It is a common given name in the United States, particularly in Chicago, Florida, New York City, and Washington. It is rare as a surname. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 📖 ## The Story of Donna Donna first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 17 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1959, when 36,469 Donnas were born — ranking #5 that year. As of 2026, Donna ranks #2,131 for baby girls with 90 births, falling sharply (-22%). In total, more than 832K Donnas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data ⭐ ## Notable people named Donna A small selection from Wikipedia. Tap "Read more" below to see the full list on Wikipedia. * ●Donna Adelson (born 1950), American convicted murderer * ●Donna Air (born 1979), English actress * ●Donna Alvermann , American educator and researcher * ●Donna Andrews , American author * ●Donna Axum (1942–2018), American beauty pageant winner, author, television executive producer, philanthropist and model * ●Donna Baird , American epidemiologist and evolutionary-population biologist * ●Donna Barnes , American politician * ●Donna J. Boley (born 1935), American politician Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna%5F%28given%5Fname%29) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donna%5F%28given%5Fname%29) 🎶 ## Names that sound like Donna Phonetically similar names — useful when Donna is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * [Donah](/donah) * [Dahna](/dahna) * [Dhana](/dhana) * [Dawna](/dawna) * [Dana](/dana) * [Dani](/dani) * [Dina](/dina) * [Donny](/donny) * [Donnie](/donnie) * [Dona](/dona) * [Dena](/dena) * [Dama](/dama) Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Donna What does the name Donna mean? Donna is an English-language feminine first name meaning 'woman' in modern Italian, and 'lady' or 'mistress' in classical Italian. The original meaning is closer to 'lady of the home' and was a title of respect in Italy, equivalent to Don for gentlemen or lord. It is a common given name in the United States, particularly in Chicago, Florida, New York City, and Washington. It is rare as a surname. How popular is Donna in 2026? In 2026, Donna ranks #2,131 among girls' names in the U.S., with 90 babies given the name that year. When was Donna most popular? Donna reached its peak popularity in 1959, ranking #5 that year with 36,469 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Donna most popular? Donna has historically been most popular in North Carolina, New Jersey, Rhode Island. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Donna. Is Donna a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Donna is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Donna? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Donna include Minnie, Joan, Angela. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧MinniePeak #5](/minnie)[👧JoanPeak #5](/joan)[👧AngelaPeak #5](/angela)[👧SandraPeak #5](/sandra)[👧MiaPeak #5](/mia)[👧FlorencePeak #6](/florence)[👧EthelPeak #6](/ethel)[👧NancyPeak #6](/nancy) ## About the name Donna Donna is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 832K births in the dataset. Donna's peak popularity came in 1959 when it ranked #5\. Use the chart and map above to compare Donna's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1959 → ](/year/1959) * [ Names of the 1950s → ](/decade/1950s) * [ Names starting with "D" → ](/letter/d) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.