Given name & surname
Donella
“ruler of the world”
In Scottish Highland use, Donella is a feminine form of Donald. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In Scottish Highland use, Donella is a feminine form of Donald. One Scottish interpretation is “ruler of the world.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In Scottish Highland use, Donella is a feminine form of Donald. An origin associated with Donald is Celtic. Donella is a variant of Donna. An origin associated with Donna is Italian.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1910. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Donella through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 1,823
- 0 boys · 1,823 girls
- Most popular year
- 1952
- 51 babies
- 2025
- 5
- #15,532 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 5 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 15,532 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,299 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.
Donella’s family of names
Donella is a feminine form of Donald. Donella has a related form in Donna. Donella has a conventional naming counterpart in Donald.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Donella
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Donella, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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