Adonna
A feminine name of Italian origin meaning "noble lady".
Name Census estimates that about 461 living Americans carry the first name Adonna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adonna today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adonna births was 1953 (22 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adonna. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
461
~ 1 in 743,502 Americans
Peak year
1953
22 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
2014 SSA rank
#13,103
Tracked since 1923
Census
Adonna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 593 people with the first name Adonna, which placed it at #18,232 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#18,232
National first-name rank
People counted
593
593 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
58.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adonna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adonna is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.5%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Adonna described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Adonna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.0% · 344
- Black or African American29.5% · 175
- Hispanic or Latino5.1% · 30
- Two or more races3.9% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 5
Popularity
Adonna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adonna from the 1920s through to the 2010s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 156 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adonna by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Adonna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adonnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Adonna
The name Adonna has its origins in the Latin language, emerging during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin phrase "ad domina," which translates to "to the lady" or "toward the mistress." This linguistic root suggests a connection to nobility or high social standing.
In the early days of Christianity, Adonna was occasionally used as a respectful title or honorific for religious figures or saints, particularly those associated with the Virgin Mary or other revered female figures within the faith. However, historical records indicate that it was not commonly adopted as a given name until later centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Adonna as a first name dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in Italian Renaissance literature and records. During this period, the name gained popularity among the Italian nobility and upper classes, who sought to bestow their daughters with names that conveyed a sense of elegance and refinement.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, several notable women bore the name Adonna. Among them was Adonna Volpe (1455-1512), an Italian noblewoman and philanthropist renowned for her charitable works and patronage of the arts. Another was Adonna Foscari (1480-1548), a Venetian aristocrat and influential figure in the cultural and political circles of her time.
As the name spread beyond Italy, it was adapted to various linguistic and cultural contexts. In France, it appeared as Adonne, while in Spain, it took the form of Adona. Each variation carried its own unique nuances and associations within the respective regions.
In the 19th century, the name Adonna gained popularity in certain parts of Europe, particularly in Germany and Austria. One of the most famous bearers of the name during this period was Adonna Katharina Amalie Brentano (1835-1903), a German writer and poet who achieved recognition for her contributions to the Romantic literary movement.
While the name Adonna has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has maintained a sense of elegance and sophistication, often associated with individuals of cultural or artistic significance. Its enduring presence, though modest, serves as a testament to the lasting influence of its Latin origins and the appreciation for its refined connotations across various eras and societies.
People
Adonna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adonna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Adonna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adonna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 461 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adonna going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 743,502 US residents.
Is Adonna a common name?
We classify Adonna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 623 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adonna most popular?
The single biggest year for Adonna was 1953, when 22 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adonna is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adonna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 593 people with the name Adonna, or 0.20 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,232 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Adonna in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Adonna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adonna appears almost entirely female. Of the 601 people counted with this name, 99.5% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Adonna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adonna is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.5%) and Hispanic (5.1%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Adonna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Adonna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.0% (344 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Adonna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adonna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adonna in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Adonna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adonna in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Adonna can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many Americans are named Adonna?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Adonna at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.