First Name
56k
in the U.S.
since 1880
Last Name
40k
in the U.S.
in 2010
Girls
Boys
First
Last
On This Page
  1. Related Names
  2. Pronunciation
  3. Meanings and Origins
  4. Notable Persons Named Donovan
  5. Notable Persons With the Last Name Donovan
  6. Popularity by Year and Gender
  7. Regional Popularity
  8. Ethnicity Distribution
  9. Fun Facts
  10. What Donovans Have Visited This Page?
  11. Name Poster

How to Pronounce Donovan

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Meaning and Origin

What does the name Donovan mean? Find out below.

Origin and Meaning of Donovan

User Submitted Meanings

  • A submission from Wisconsin, United States says the name Donovan means "A young Man, Special soul, one of a Kind!" and is of Unknown origin.
Other origins: English and Gaelic

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Wiktionary

From Irish Ó Donndubháin "descendant of (a person named) brown + black".

  1. A surname​,
  2. A male given name, transferred from the surname.
  3. The Scottish singer-songwriter Donovan
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Notable Persons Named Donovan

Donovan

Donovan is a folk rock, psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock, and celtic rock musician. He plays Guitar, Harmonica, and Vocals. His most notable accomplishments were from 1964 to present. Donovan was given the name Donovan Philips Leitch on May 10th, 1946 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland.

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Donovan McNabb

Donovan McNabb is a football player. Donovan was born on November 25th, 1976 in Chicago.

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Donovan Patton

Donovan Patton is a musician. His ongoing career started in 2002. Donovan was born Donovan Patton on March 1st, 1978 in Naval Air Station Agana.

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Donovan Bailey

Donovan Bailey is an athlete. Donovan was born on December 16th, 1967 in Manchester Parish.

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Donovan Ruddock

Donovan Ruddock is a boxer. Donovan was born on December 21st, 1963 in Saint Catherine Parish.

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Donovan Leitch

Donovan was given the name Donovan Jerome Leitch on August 16th, 1967 in London.

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Notable Persons With the Last Name Donovan

Donovan

Donovan is a folk rock, psychedelic folk, psychedelic rock, and celtic rock musician. He plays Guitar, Harmonica, and Vocals. His most notable accomplishments were from 1964 to present. Donovan was given the name Donovan Philips Leitch on May 10th, 1946 in Maryhill, Glasgow, Scotland.

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James Donovan

James Donovan was a military officer, lawyer, and educator. James was given the name James Britt Donovan on February 29th, 1916 in The Bronx. James is also known as Donovan and James Britt. He passed away on January 19th, 1970.

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Jeffrey Donovan

Jeffrey Donovan is an actor. He has been prominent since 1995. Jeffrey was born on May 11th, 1968 in Amesbury, Massachusetts, United States.

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Tate Donovan

Tate Donovan is an actor and director. His ongoing career started in 1984. Tate was given the name Tate Buckley Donovan on September 25th, 1963 in Tenafly, New Jersey.

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Landon Donovan

Landon Donovan is a soccer player for the IMG Academy, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, San Jose Earthquakes, LA Galaxy, FC Bayern Munich, Everton F.C., United States men's national under-17 soccer team, United States men's national under-20 soccer team, and United States men's national under-23 soccer team. Landon was born on March 4th, 1982 in Ontario, California, United States.

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Afrika Bambaataa

Afrika Bambaataa is a hip hop music, electro house, electronic music, breakbeat, and electro (music) disc jockey, record producer, and activism. He plays Disc jockey, Electronic keyboard, Synthesizer, and Vocals. He was most active from 1975 to present. Afrika was given the name Kevin Donovan on April 17th, 1957 in The Bronx.

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How popular is the baby name Donovan in the U.S.?

Click Here to Show Chart Data
Year Total Babies Born Girls Born Boys Born
1900 8 0 8
1901 7 0 7
1902 7 0 7
1903 9 0 9
1904 9 0 9
1905 12 0 12
1906 9 0 9
1907 9 0 9
1908 5 0 5
1909 8 0 8
1911 12 0 12
1912 26 0 26
1913 28 0 28
1914 35 0 35
1915 45 0 45
1916 49 0 49
1917 40 0 40
1918 46 0 46
1919 54 0 54
1920 61 0 61
1921 69 0 69
1922 52 0 52
1923 75 0 75
1924 65 0 65
1925 75 0 75
1926 66 0 66
1927 78 0 78
1928 93 0 93
1929 85 0 85
1930 93 0 93
1931 98 0 98
1932 107 0 107
1933 80 0 80
1934 109 0 109
1935 66 0 66
1936 79 0 79
1937 64 0 64
1938 91 0 91
1939 79 0 79
1940 84 0 84
1941 65 0 65
1942 65 0 65
1943 73 0 73
1944 63 0 63
1945 58 0 58
1946 83 0 83
1947 78 0 78
1948 78 0 78
1949 70 0 70
1950 90 0 90
1951 86 0 86
1952 73 0 73
1953 80 0 80
1954 76 0 76
1955 107 0 107
1956 88 0 88
1957 116 0 116
1958 73 0 73
1959 88 0 88
1960 75 0 75
1961 119 0 119
1962 103 0 103
1963 102 0 102
1964 119 0 119
1965 132 0 132
1966 175 0 175
1967 227 0 227
1968 282 0 282
1969 487 8 479
1970 506 5 501
1971 479 0 479
1972 410 6 404
1973 378 0 378
1974 368 0 368
1975 338 0 338
1976 348 0 348
1977 324 0 324
1978 300 7 293
1979 318 0 318
1980 345 0 345
1981 296 6 290
1982 279 0 279
1983 279 0 279
1984 340 8 332
1985 466 6 460
1986 502 9 493
1987 639 9 630
1988 680 8 672
1989 771 0 771
1990 856 6 850
1991 1,063 5 1,058
1992 1,183 7 1,176
1993 1,150 6 1,144
1994 1,108 0 1,108
1995 1,084 9 1,075
1996 1,202 0 1,202
1997 1,458 9 1,449
1998 1,552 11 1,541
1999 1,642 10 1,632
2000 1,729 12 1,717
2001 1,665 7 1,658
2002 1,970 7 1,963
2003 2,218 8 2,210
2004 2,067 13 2,054
2005 2,183 0 2,183
2006 1,967 0 1,967
2007 2,048 6 2,042
2008 1,791 7 1,784
2009 1,739 0 1,739
2010 1,647 5 1,642
2011 1,363 0 1,363
2012 1,271 0 1,271
2013 1,236 0 1,236
2014 1,270 5 1,265
2015 1,298 0 1,298
2016 1,160 5 1,155
2017 1,056 5 1,051
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Where is the name Donovan popular?

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Popularity of Donovan as a first name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Donovan as a first name in each of the states. See other popular names in Hawaii, Nevada, or New Mexico.

Popularity of Donovan as a last name

The map shows the relative popularity of the name Donovan as a last name in each of the states. See other popular names in Delaware, Massachusetts, or New Hampshire.

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Common last names for Donovan

  • Smith
  • Brown
  • Miller
  • Johnson
  • Moore
  • Thompson
  • Wilson
  • King
  • Scott
  • Young
  • Phillips

Common first names for Donovan

Ethnicity Distribution

Ethnicity Donovan U.S.
â–ˆ  White 92.94% 64.26%
â–ˆ  African American 2.00% 11.96%
â–ˆ  Asian, Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander 0.68% 4.85%
â–ˆ  American Indian and Alaska Native 0.27% 0.69%
â–ˆ  Two or More Ethnicities 1.33% 1.76%
â–ˆ  Hispanic or Latino 2.79% 16.26%

Of Last Name Donovan

People with the last name Donovan are most frequently White

Entire United States

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Fun Facts about the name Donovan

  • What name lists does Donovan rank for?
    #72Unique Boy Names
  • How Popular is the name Donovan? Donovan is the 934th most popular name of all time. As a last name Donovan was the 853rd most popular name in 2010.
  • How many people with the first name Donovan have been born in the United States? From 1880 to 2017, the Social Security Administration has recorded 55,760 babies born with the first name Donovan in the United States. That's more than enough people named Donovan to occupy the territory of American Samoa (USA) with an estimated population of 55,519 (as of April 1, 2010).
  • What year were 5 or more babies first named Donovan? The name was first given to 5 or more babies in the year 1900 when it was given as a first name to 8 new born babies.
  • When was Donovan first recorded in the United States? The oldest recorded birth by the Social Security Administration for the first name Donovan is Friday, January 17th, 1879.
  • What year had the most people named Donovan born? The highest recorded use of the first name Donovan was in 2003 with a total of 2,210 babies. That's a lot of babies named Donovan!
  • Random Donovan Factoid: According to the 2002 U.S. Social Security Administration data, the first name Donovan ranks 104th in popularity as a baby boy's name in Alaska. Imagine that, 10 babies in Alaska have the same name as you in 2002.
  • Weird things about the name Donovan: Your name in reverse order is Navonod. A random rearrangement of the letters in your name (anagram) will give Avndoon. How do you pronounce that?
  • How many people have the last name Donovan? In 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau surveyed 40,410 people with the last name Donovan.
  • How likely are you to meet someone with the last name of Donovan? If you manage to meet 100,000 people in your life, chances are that 14 of them will have Donovan as their last name.
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What Donovans Have Visited This Page?

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Name poster for Donovan

Name poster for Donovan(click to save the high quality version)

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All Name Lists

  • Sources:
  • U.S. Census Bureau: Frequently Occurring Surnames from the Census 2000 (public domain).
  • U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names, Death Master File (public domain).
  • Wiktionary: Titles and License.
  • Notable persons via Wikipedia: Titles and License. Click each image for the attribution information.