Donta
A masculine given name of possible African American origin, meaning unknown.
Name Census estimates that about 3,829 living Americans carry the first name Donta. It is a predominantly male name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Donta today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donta births was 1991 (147 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donta. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Donta with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Donta is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 91 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
3.8K
~ 1 in 89,515 Americans
Peak year
1991
147 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,230
Tracked since 1964
Census
Donta in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,521 people with the first name Donta, which placed it at #6,385 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
#6,385
National first-name rank
People counted
2.5K
2,521 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
89.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donta
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donta is Black at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and White (2.8%). 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 Donta 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 Donta at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.5% · 2,257
- Two or more races5.0% · 126
- White2.8% · 71
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 54
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 6
Gender
Gender distribution for Donta
Donta leans heavily male at 97.7% of total registrations, but 91 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Donta as a male name
- Ranked #6,230 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1991 (141 births)
Donta as a female name
- Ranked #12,213 in 1993
- 6 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1975 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donta leans strongly male. 2,443 people counted with this name were male (96.8%), compared with 80 female bearers (3.2%).
Popularity
Donta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donta from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 1,106 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donta 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 Donta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dontas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 24 states and territories. Maryland, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Donta, while Kentucky, Wisconsin, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 82 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donta
The name Donta is believed to have its origins in the Igbo language, spoken predominantly in southeastern Nigeria. It is derived from the Igbo word "donta," which means "wait" or "be patient." The name can be traced back to the 15th century, during the height of the Nri Kingdom in present-day Anambra State, Nigeria.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Donta can be found in the oral traditions and folklore of the Igbo people. It is said that a prominent chief of the Nri Kingdom had a son named Donta, who was known for his patience and wisdom. This association with patience and virtue may have contributed to the name's popularity among the Igbo community.
In the 16th century, the name Donta appears in several historical records from the Kingdom of Nri, often referring to individuals of high standing or influential families. One notable example is Donta Eze, a respected elder and advisor to the king, who lived during the reign of Eze Nri Obalike in the late 1500s.
As the Igbo people migrated and settled in different parts of West Africa, the name Donta spread beyond its original geographical boundaries. By the 18th century, it had become a relatively common name among the Igbo diaspora in various regions of present-day Nigeria, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Donta. One such figure is Donta Okafor (1870-1945), a renowned Igbo trader and entrepreneur who established a successful commercial empire in the early 20th century. Another is Donta Nwankwo (1912-1988), a pioneering educator and advocate for women's rights in colonial Nigeria.
In more recent times, the name Donta has gained recognition beyond its traditional cultural boundaries. Donta Smith (born 1983) is an American basketball player who played in the NBA and several international leagues. Donta Hall (born 1997) is another American basketball player, best known for his collegiate career at the University of Alabama.
While the name Donta has its roots in the Igbo language and culture, it has transcended its origins and found its place in various communities worldwide. Its association with patience, wisdom, and virtue has endured, making it a name with a rich historical and cultural significance.
People
Donta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donta 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
Donta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3,829 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donta 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 89,515 US residents.
Is Donta a common name?
We classify Donta as "Rare". It ranks above 95.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,980 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donta most popular?
The single biggest year for Donta was 1991, when 147 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donta is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donta in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,521 people with the name Donta, or 0.83 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,385 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 Donta 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 Donta?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donta leans strongly male. 2,443 people counted with this name were male (96.8%), compared with 80 female bearers (3.2%). 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 Donta?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donta is Black at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (5.0%) and White (2.8%). 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 Donta most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Donta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (2,257 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 Donta in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donta a male name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Donta 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 Donta still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donta 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 Donta 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 common is the name Donta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.