Donovan

Boy name

Donovan has been given to 61,904 babies in the U.S. since 1900. It peaked in 2003 and currently ranks #496 for boys (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈdɒnəvɪn/

From Irish Ó Donndubháin (“descendant of (a person named) brown & black”), from donn (“brown”) and dubh (“black”).

Origin: surnames

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

61,904

Peak year

2003 (2,219 babies)

Rank in 2025

#496 for boys

First recorded

1900

10-year trend

▼ -53%

Gender split

0% girls / 100% boys

Famous people named Donovan

Donovan

Scottish musician (born 1946)

Donovan Bailey

Canadian athlete, Olympic medalist

Donovan Mitchell

American basketball player (born 1996)

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Donovan.

Enriqueboy

61,494 babies since 1880

Gageboy

61,055 babies since 1914

Damienboy

65,018 babies since 1936

Trentonboy

58,635 babies since 1913

Lelandboy

58,556 babies since 1880

Colbyboy

58,155 babies since 1888

Josueboy

57,874 babies since 1924

Malachiboy

66,048 babies since 1880

Get new name insights first

Occasional updates when we add new data & tools. No spam, unsubscribe anytime by replying to any email or writing to hello@zalize.com.

By subscribing you agree to our privacy policy. We store only your email address and the date you signed up.