Given name & surname
Donn
“from of Donald, meaning”
Donn is a variant of Don. One Scottish interpretation is “from of Donald, meaning "ruler of the world.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Donn is a variant of Don. One Scottish interpretation is “from of Donald, meaning "ruler of the world.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Donn is a variant of Don. An origin associated with Don is Scottish.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1912. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Donn through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6,615
- 6,553 boys · 62 girls
- Most popular year
- 1949
- 341 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for boys was 341 in 1949. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,036 as a first name in 2020; 835 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.
Donn’s family of names
Donn has a related form in Don. In English usage, Donn as a surname has a related form in Dunn.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Donn
- Donn F. EiseleAmerican astronaut (1930–1987)
- Donn RoachAmerican baseball playerborn 1989
- Donn F. DraegerAmerican martial artist (1922–1982)
- Donn TatumAmerican businessman (1913-1993)
- Donn ClendenonAmerican professional baseball player, first baseman1935–2005
- Donn CambernAmerican film editor (1929–2023)
- Donn TrennerAmerican musician1927–2020
- Donn Eric RosenAmerican ichthyologist (1929-1986)
- Donn ReynoldsCanadian singer1921–1997
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Donn, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Doran
“exile, wanderer” · “a stranger; one who has been exiled”
>99% boys
Dian
Dian is a feminine given name from Javanese. It is used in Indonesian.
>99% boys
Avon
“of the river”
>99% boys
Karon
“one who is pure; virginal”
>99% boys
Donnie
“ruler of the world” · “a brown-haired chief”
99% boys · 1% girls
Denny
“a follower of Dionysus” · “follower of Dionysus”
98% boys · 2% girls
Lindon
“from the hill of lime trees” · “from the lime tree”
>99% boys
Donell
“ruler of the world; a brown-haired warrior”
>99% boys