Given name

Donalee

“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”

Donalee is a variant of Donnell. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior.”

Meaning & origin

What it means

Donalee is a variant of Donnell. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior.”

Explained through its name family

Where it comes from

Donalee is a variant of Donnell. An origin associated with Donnell is Scottish.

Explained through its name family

The story

Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1923. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.

From dated birth records

Donalee through the years

Babies since 1880
406
0 boys · 406 girls
Most popular year
1959
17 babies
2025
0
Outside the ranked list
2021–25 vs 2016–20
—
Too few births to compare
0510152019401960198020002025Highest share 19330.0
Donalee in U.S. Social Security birth records, 1923–2025, per million girls born. Years with fewer than five births for a sex are not published and appear as zero. Use the arrow keys to step through years.

By the numbers

The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 8 in 1972. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 17 in 1959. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 395 as a first name in 2020.

From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.

Donalee’s family of names

Donalee has a related form in Donnell.

Walk Donalee’s family in the name graph

DonaleeDonnell

The ring: nicknames and forms.

Hover or tab through the constellation to see how each name is related. Bigger dots are names more people in the U.S. share.

Nicknames & forms 1

Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.

Similar names

If you love Donalee, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.

Italian

Donna

“ruler of the world”

39RareEasing

>99% girls

Biblical

Debbie

“bee”

24RareRising

>99% girls

Mythological

Dori

“a gift of God” · “of the ancient Greek tribe, the Dorians”

21RareRising fast

>99% girls

Gaelic

Doreen

“the golden one” · “a brooding woman”

25RareEasing

>99% girls

Latin

Delphine

“woman from Delphi; resembling a dolphin”

30RareSteady

>99% girls

French

Denise

“follower of Dionysus”

42UncommonEasing

>99% girls

Latin · Mythological

Diane

Diane is used as a given name and a surname. Diane is connected with Diana.

35RareSteady

>99% girls

Latin · Mythological

Dianna

Dianna is a feminine given name from Latin.

35RareEasing

>99% girls

Sibling ideas

Names that share Donalee’s feel without repeating its first letter or rhyming with it.

A brother for Donalee

A sister for Donalee