Donzell
A variant spelling of Donzell, a masculine given name of uncertain origin possibly meaning "little one".
Name Census estimates that about 937 living Americans carry the first name Donzell. It is a predominantly male name (97.8% of registrations). The average person named Donzell today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donzell births was 1990 (46 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donzell. 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
937
~ 1 in 365,800 Americans
Peak year
1990
46 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2021 SSA rank
#7,053
Tracked since 1919
Census
Donzell in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 692 people with the first name Donzell, which placed it at #16,339 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
#16,339
National first-name rank
People counted
692
692 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
90.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donzell
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donzell is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and White (2.7%). 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 Donzell 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 Donzell at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American90.0% · 623
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 22
- White2.7% · 19
- Two or more races2.7% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 4
Gender
Gender distribution for Donzell
Donzell leans heavily male at 97.8% of total registrations, but 23 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Donzell as a male name
- Ranked #12,634 in 2021
- 5 male births in 2021
- Peak: 1990 (46 births)
Donzell as a female name
- Ranked #7,053 in 1967
- 5 female births in 1967
- Peak: 1920 (8 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donzell leans strongly male. 643 people counted with this name were male (93.3%), compared with 46 female bearers (6.7%).
Popularity
Donzell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donzell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 233 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donzell 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 Donzell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donzells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. Illinois, Ohio, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Donzell, while District of Columbia, Michigan, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 18 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donzell
The name Donzell is of French origin, derived from the Old French word "donzel," which means "young squire" or "young gentleman." The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, specifically the 12th to 15th centuries.
In medieval times, the term "donzel" referred to a young man of noble birth who was training to become a knight. This name was often given to boys from aristocratic families, reflecting their status and aspirations for knighthood or chivalric service.
While the name Donzell does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures, it is closely linked to the cultural and social structure of the medieval period in Europe, particularly in France and the surrounding regions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Donzell can be found in the 12th-century French epic poem "The Song of Roland," where it is mentioned as the name of a young warrior. Additionally, there are records of several individuals named Donzell or variations thereof in medieval French and English records, such as court documents and chronicles.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Donzell. One of the earliest was Donzell de Pradines (born around 1160), a French knight and crusader who participated in the Third Crusade led by Richard the Lionheart.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Donzell de Montpellier (c. 1265 - c. 1320), a renowned Occitan troubadour and poet from the region of Languedoc in southern France.
In the 14th century, there was Donzell d'Aubusson (c. 1335 - 1405), a French knight and military commander who served under King Charles V of France and played a significant role in the Hundred Years' War against the English.
Moving into the 15th century, Donzell de Valois (1412 - 1463) was a French nobleman and illegitimate son of King Charles VI of France. He served as a military commander and was known for his involvement in the latter stages of the Hundred Years' War.
Lastly, in the 16th century, Donzell de Sully (c. 1525 - 1597) was a French nobleman, military leader, and Protestant reformer who fought alongside King Henry IV of France during the French Wars of Religion.
While the name Donzell may not be as common today, its historical roots and associations with knighthood, chivalry, and nobility in medieval France provide a rich cultural significance and legacy.
People
Donzell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donzell 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
Donzell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donzell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 937 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donzell 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 365,800 US residents.
Is Donzell a common name?
We classify Donzell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,067 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donzell most popular?
The single biggest year for Donzell was 1990, when 46 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donzell is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donzell in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 692 people with the name Donzell, or 0.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,339 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 Donzell 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 Donzell?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donzell leans strongly male. 643 people counted with this name were male (93.3%), compared with 46 female bearers (6.7%). 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 Donzell?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donzell is Black at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.2%) and White (2.7%). 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 Donzell most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Donzell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (623 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 Donzell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donzell a male name?
Yes, 97.8% of people registered as Donzell 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 Donzell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donzell 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 Donzell 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 Donzell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.