girl's name

Donella

  • Gender Girl
  • Syllables 3
  • Letters 7
  • Popularity Rare
  • Births on record 1,829

Scotland

#553

1977 births

Donella is a girl's name with 3 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

  • Peaked in 1952, when 51 babies were given the name.
  • Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 663,130 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • First appears in US birth records in 1910.
  • 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.

Donella over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1910s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

333
'10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Donella by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1910s 53
1920s 161
1930s 146
1940s 244
1950s 312
1960s 305
1970s 333
1980s 183
1990s 69
2000s 6
2010s 6
2020s (to 2025) 5

How popular is Donella?

In 2025, Donella was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Where Donella is used

Scotland #553 3 in 1977
England & Wales #5,395 3 in 2004
United States #15,816 5 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

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 Donella

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Donella also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Donella over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Sibling names for Donella

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Donella — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Donella

How popular is the name Donella?

In 2025, Donella was given to 5 babies in the United States. It is a rare choice.

Is Donella a girl's or a boy's name?

Donella is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.

How many syllables are in Donella?

Donella has 3 syllables.

When was Donella most popular?

Donella peaked in 1952, when 51 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.

Is Donella a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Donella currently ranks #15,816 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.