Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Don?
Births per year, rank history and how many Dons are alive today.
Don (male) is a shortened form of the name Donald. Although Don itself was given to 9 babies in England and Wales in 2025 (ranked 2440th as a registered name), most Dons are registered as Donald, which ranked 1466th in 2025 with 18 babies.
Most people called Don are registered as Donald, and share that name's profile: the Donald you are most likely to meet is around 89 years old. Half of all Donalds born in England and Wales are between 60 and 87, and there are at least 38,000 of them alive today. Only some Donalds go by Don.
How many babies are named Don or Donald each year?
Combined registrations of Donald, Don. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
Where does Donald rank as a registered name?
Where does Don rank as a registered name?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
Is Don short for Donald?
Yes - Don is a shortened form of Donald. Dons are usually registered as Donald at birth.
When was the name Don most popular?
The full name Donald peaked in 1934, when around 3,600 babies in England and Wales were given the name. Don itself peaked as a registered name in 2005, with 15 babies.
How many people are called Don?
There's no official count of people who go by Don, because it's a nickname rather than a registered name. What we can say: at least 38,000 people registered as Donald born in England and Wales are alive today, and some of them go by Don.
How old is the typical Don?
Most people called Don are registered as Donald. Most living Donalds are between 60 and 87; the most common age is about 89.
Is Don becoming more or less popular?
Rising: numbers have been climbing in recent years.