Donovan
Donovan was the 496th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 609 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 176th with 2,211 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 214 places. More babies were named Donovan in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning descendant of the dark-brown one (Irish) · Irish
Say it DON-uh-vun /ˈdɑnəvən/
- Rank in 2025
- #496 boys, down 122 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 609boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20032,211 babies
- Total since 1880
- 61,904babies recorded
What does the name Donovan mean?
Donovan is an Irish surname, O'Donovan. Wiktionary derives it from Ó Donndubháin, from donn, "brown", and dubh, "black, dark"; Woulfe's 1923 index lists O'Donovan and Donovan under the Gaelic name Ó Donnabháin. Either way the name is based on donn, "brown". It is used as a first name, and the Scottish singer Donovan made it familiar.
donn (Irish, “brown”)dubh (Irish, “black, dark”)
How sure is this? Probable. The donn element is agreed; the second part is read differently.
Related names: Donnie, Van, Donavan.
See also: Irish names, names that mean a color.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Donovan', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Patrick Woulfe, Sloinnte Gaedheal is Gall: Irish Names and Surnames (1923), index of Irish surnames and their anglicized forms, M. H. Gill & Son (Internet Archive scan)
Nicknames for Donovan
The usual nicknames for Donovan are Don, Donnie and Van. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Donovan in the last five years, 38 were named Van, against 7 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Don · also for Donald | Traditional | #1,795 | 492 |
| Donnie · also for Adonis, Donald, Don | Traditional | #1,796 | 449 |
| Van | Modern | #972 | 1,255 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Donovans go by each one.
Donovan popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 220 since 1969.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #496 | 609 |
| 2020 | #374 | 830 |
| 2010 | #217 | 1,644 |
| 2000 | #206 | 1,718 |
| 1990 | #300 | 849 |
| 1980 | #449 | 344 |
| 1970 | #365 | 501 |
| 1960 | #878 | 75 |
| 1950 | #721 | 90 |
| 1940 | #660 | 84 |
| 1930 | #637 | 93 |
| 1920 | #879 | 61 |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | #983 | 8 |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Donovan, counting every spelling?
Donovan is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #457 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #496 for Donovan on its own. Together these spellings went to 677 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Donovan | 609 | #496 | 3,285 |
| Donavan | 56 | #2,426 | 232 |
| Donovin | 5 | #12,532 | 26 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Donovan?
609 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Donovan (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Donovan born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Donovan.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Donovan?
About 57,300 people born in the US named Donovan are alive today, with a median age of 23; half are between 15 and 32. That makes Donovan mostly worn by children and young adults.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Donovan by state
How common Donovan was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Kansas (1.6×), Nevada (1.6×), California (1.5×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Arkansas, New Mexico, Alabama.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Donovan: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Donovan, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Donovan · Sibling names for Donovan
Questions about the name Donovan
What does Donovan mean?
Donovan means “descendant of the dark-brown one (Irish)” (Irish origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Donovan?
Donovan was the 496th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 609 babies. Its best year was 2003, when it ranked 176th with 2,211 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 214 places. More babies were named Donovan in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Donovan a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Donovan in the US.
Where is Donovan most popular?
In 2021–2025, Donovan was most common in Rhode Island (0.74 per 1,000 boys), followed by Kansas and Nevada.