Donzella
Of uncertain origin, a feminine personal name possibly derived from Italian.
Name Census estimates that about 207 living Americans carry the first name Donzella. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Donzella today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Donzella births was 1950 (52 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Donzella. 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 Donzella is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Donzellas were born before 1965.
People living today
207
~ 1 in 1,655,818 Americans
Peak year
1950
52 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1969 SSA rank
#6,124
Tracked since 1921
Census
Donzella in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 259 people with the first name Donzella, which placed it at #32,463 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
#32,463
National first-name rank
People counted
259
259 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
79.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Donzella
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donzella is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Donzella 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 Donzella at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.9% · 207
- White13.5% · 35
- Two or more races4.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino1.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Donzella: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Donzella from the 1920s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 185 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1950s peak, Donzella remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Donzella 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 Donzella during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Donzellas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Donzella, while Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 5 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Donzella
Donzella is a feminine given name with its origins rooted in the Italian and Spanish languages. It is derived from the Italian word "donzella," which means "young lady" or "maiden." The name is a diminutive form of the Italian word "donna," meaning "woman" or "lady."
The name Donzella can be traced back to the Middle Ages, where it was commonly used in various regions of Italy and Spain. Its earliest recorded use dates back to the 13th century, particularly in literary works and historical documents from that period.
One notable historical reference to the name Donzella can be found in Dante Alighieri's famous literary work, "The Divine Comedy," written in the early 14th century. In the poem, Dante mentions a character named Donzella who represents the personification of innocence and purity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Donzella. One of the earliest recorded examples is Donzella di Savoia (1340-1384), a noblewoman from the House of Savoy in Italy. Another prominent figure was Donzella Malespina (1390-1457), an Italian poet and noblewoman from the Malespina family.
In the 16th century, Donzella de Avalos (1510-1576) was a prominent Spanish noblewoman and the first wife of Ferdinando Francesco d'Avalos, the Marchese del Vasto. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the cultural circles of Naples.
Moving forward to the 17th century, Donzella Giustiniani (1635-1705) was a Venetian noblewoman and a noted patron of the arts, particularly in the field of music. She hosted many musical events and salons in her palazzo, contributing to the cultural life of Venice during that time.
In more recent times, Donzella Pasin (1922-2008) was an Italian painter and sculptor known for her abstract and figurative works. She was a prominent figure in the Italian art scene of the 20th century and had several solo exhibitions throughout her career.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Donzella throughout history, highlighting its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Donzella + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Donzella 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
Donzella: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Donzella?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 207 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Donzella 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 1,655,818 US residents.
Is Donzella a common name?
We classify Donzella as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 375 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Donzella most popular?
The single biggest year for Donzella was 1950, when 52 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Donzella is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Donzella in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 259 people with the name Donzella, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,463 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 Donzella 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 Donzella?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Donzella appears almost entirely female. Of the 253 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Donzella?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Donzella is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (13.5%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Donzella most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Donzella in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (207 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 Donzella in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Donzella a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Donzella 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 Donzella still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Donzella 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 Donzella 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 Donzella as a first name?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Donzella at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.