Donney
Anglicized form of the Old Irish masculine name Donnchadh meaning "brown warrior".
Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Donney. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Donney today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donney births was 1954 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donney. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Donney is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Donneys were born before 1969.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Donney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
82
~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans
Peak year
1954
12 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1976 SSA rank
#5,835
Tracked since 1948
Census
Donney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 175 people with the first name Donney, which placed it at #41,669 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
#41,669
National first-name rank
People counted
175
175 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donney is White at 52.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%). 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 Donney 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 Donney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.6% · 92
- Black or African American29.1% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.9% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino5.7% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 6
- Two or more races2.3% · 4
Popularity
Donney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donney from the 1940s through to the 1970s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 66 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donney 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 Donney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donney
The name Donney is a rare and intriguing one with a rich history that stretches back centuries. Its origins can be traced to the Gaelic language, which was spoken in Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. The name is derived from the Gaelic word "donn," meaning "brown" or "dark-haired," and it was likely originally used as a descriptive nickname for someone with a dark complexion or hair color.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Donney can be found in the Annals of Ulster, a chronicle of medieval Irish history dating back to the 15th century. Here, the name appears as "Donndubhán," which translates to "little brown one." This suggests that the name was in use in Ireland as early as the Middle Ages.
Throughout history, the name Donney has been associated with several notable figures. One of the earliest was Donney O'Brien (c. 1180-1242), a medieval Irish king who ruled the Kingdom of Thomond in the early 13th century. He played a significant role in the wars between the Irish and the Anglo-Normans, and his descendants continued to hold power in Munster for several generations.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Donney Byrne (1605-1680), an Irish soldier and landowner who fought for the Catholic Confederacy during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in the 17th century. He was known for his bravery and loyalty to the cause, and his exploits were recorded in contemporary accounts of the conflict.
In more recent times, Donney Quintana (1932-2006) was a renowned American artist and sculptor, best known for his large-scale public works in bronze and steel. His sculptures can be found in various cities across the United States, and he was recognized for his contributions to the arts with numerous awards and honors.
Donney Reid (1949-2016) was a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician who rose to prominence in the 1970s as a member of the folk-rock band Lindisfarne. He co-wrote some of the band's most popular songs, including "Meet Me on the Corner" and "Fog on the Tyne."
Lastly, Donney Purnell (born 1968) is a contemporary American basketball coach and former player. He played professionally in several countries, including the United States, Greece, and Italy, before transitioning to coaching roles at various universities and professional teams.
While not as common as some other names, Donney has a rich and fascinating history that spans centuries and cultures. Its Gaelic roots and associations with notable figures from Ireland, Scotland, and beyond make it a unique and memorable name with a deep connection to the past.
People
Donney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donney as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Donney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donney 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 4,179,931 US residents.
Is Donney a common name?
We classify Donney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 106 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donney most popular?
The single biggest year for Donney was 1954, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donney is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 175 people with the name Donney, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,669 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 Donney 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 Donney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donney leans strongly male. 165 people counted with this name were male (94.3%), compared with 10 female bearers (5.7%). 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 Donney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donney is White at 52.6%. The next largest groups are Black (29.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.9%). 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 Donney most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Donney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.6% (92 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 Donney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donney a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donney in the SSA data are male. 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 Donney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donney 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 Donney 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 people have Donney as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Donney, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.