boy's name
Don
DON
- Origin Scottish
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 1
- Letters 3
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 171,198
Northern Ireland
#282
1997 births
Don is a boy's name shortened from Donald, meaning world ruler. The Spanish title don is a completely separate word from the Latin for a lord, and the two have never been connected at all.
- Don is a name of Scottish origin.
- Peaked in 1946, when 4,130 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 37,252 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 1 syllable, with the stress on syllable 1.
Don over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 454 |
| 1890s | 620 |
| 1900s | 828 |
| 1910s | 5,763 |
| 1920s | 17,168 |
| 1930s | 36,248 |
| 1940s | 36,422 |
| 1950s | 29,605 |
| 1960s | 22,268 |
| 1970s | 8,608 |
| 1980s | 5,028 |
| 1990s | 2,643 |
| 2000s | 1,530 |
| 2010s | 1,072 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 582 |
What Don means
Don means world ruler, carried from Donald. The Gaelic joins a word for the world to one meaning a ruler, so the compound names an office rather than a quality.
Where Don comes from
Don shortens Donald, the Gaelic Domhnall — dumno, the world, joined to val, rule. Six kings of Scotland carried it, and it is the name of Clan Donald, the largest of the Scottish clans. The Spanish and Italian title don is unrelated, from the Latin dominus, a lord, which also gives dominion and the Dominican order; the coincidence of spelling has produced a persistent assumption that a man called Don has a Spanish honorific for a name. There is a third Don, the Russian river, from a Scythian word for water, which stands behind the Danube and the Dnieper as well.
Don in use
Don peaked in the United States in 1946, when 4,130 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It now ranks 1794th in the United States on 89 births, 2488th in England and Wales on 9 and 5352nd in France, across 171,198 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. The 1946 peak places it in the immediate postwar cluster with Gary, Larry and Dennis.
How popular is Don?
In 2025, Don was given to 89 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Don is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Don
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Don also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Don over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Don in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Don
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Don — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Don
What does the name Don mean?
World ruler, carried from Donald — the Gaelic dumno, world, joined to val, rule.
Is Don the Spanish title?
No. The Spanish don is from the Latin dominus, a lord, and has no connection to the Gaelic name.
Is Don short for anything else?
Almost always Donald. Donovan and Donal are separate names that share the first element.
How popular is Don?
1794th in the United States, and our data marks it stable.
Is Don a girl's or a boy's name?
Don is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Don?
Don has 1 syllable.
Is Don a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Don currently ranks #1,794 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.