Given name & surname · also Scottish, Gaelic
Donald
“ruler of the world”
Donald is used as a given name and a surname. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
How it developed
This form developed as an English adaptation of a name used in another language.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Donald through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,420,387
- 1,414,824 boys · 5,563 girls
- Most popular year
- 1934
- 30,518 babies
- 2025
- 395
- #690 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 395 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 690 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 23.5% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 30,408 in 1934. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (34). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 715,624 as a first name in 2020; 12,088 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Donald’s family of names
In English usage, Donald has a diminutive in Don. Donald has a feminine form in Donna. In Polish usage, Donald has a conventional equivalent in the English form Donal.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Donald has relatives in 22 languages. Lines run from its Irish roots to each of them.
Irishwhere Donald comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 28
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Donnafeminine form · English
- QuintusLatin
- DonaldoSpanish, Esperanto
- Donellaequivalent
- Donaldson“son of” surname · English
- Donalsee also · English
- Donaldafeminine form
- ДональдRussian
Show 20 moreShow fewer
- Đô-nanborrowing · Vietnamese
- Dyfnwalcognate · Welsh
- 唐納德borrowing · Chinese
- דונלדborrowing · Hebrew
- Donaldascognate · Lithuanian
- Domhnalldoublet · English
- DufenalOld English
- ドナルドJapanese
- DónallIrish
- ডোনাল্ডBengali
- डॉनल्डHindi
- Dòmhnallsource · Scottish Gaelic
- DonaldusLatin
- DonvaldusLatin
- دُونَلْدArabic
- Domnallroot · sga
- Dolannafeminine form
- Doileagfeminine form
- Dol(l)agfeminine form
- Donna(g)feminine form
See also 11
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Donald
- Donald TrumpPresident of the United States (2017–2021; since 2025)born 1946
- Donald TuskPrime Minister of Poland (2007–2014; since 2023)born 1957
- Donald SutherlandCanadian actor (1935–2024)
- Donald KnuthAmerican computer scientist and mathematician (born 1938)
- Donald RumsfeldAmerican politician and diplomat (1932–2021)
- Donald GlaserAmerican physicist and neurobiologist (1926–2013)
- Donald PleasenceBritish actor (1919–1995)
- Don CheadleAmerican actor (born 1964)
- Donald GloverAmerican actor, comedian, musician, and filmmaker (born 1983)
Characters named Donald: Donald Cragen (the TV series Law & Order), Donald Mallard (the television series NCIS), Donald Flack Jr. (fictional character), Father Callahan (Stephen King's 'Salem's Lot).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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