Donna

At a Glance: Name: Donna – Meaning: lady – Origin: Italian – Gender: used for both boys and girls – Pronunciation: DON-uh

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Donna comes from Italian and means "lady." You may have seen it described as meaning "ruler of the world," but that's a mix-up with the name Donald — it's not where Donna actually comes from or what it actually means.

Meaning & Origin of Donna

Meaning: Lady.

Origin: Italian.

A common claim: lady; ruler of the world Actually: Donna does mean 'lady' in Italian, but the added 'ruler of the world' gloss comes from mixing it up with Donald — that's only a secondary folk interpretation, not the name's real origin.

Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.

How to Pronounce Donna

Phonetic: DON-uh   IPA: /ˈdɒnə/

Popularity of Donna

Donna hit its peak in 1959, when it ranked #5 with 36,469 babies given the name. By 2024 it had fallen to #1941, with just 102 babies named Donna that year.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1880–2024.

Make Donna Name Art

Free printable nursery art for Donna, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.

Names With a Similar Story

Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.

• Fidel
• Wynn
• Flint
• Konrad
• Denise
• Yana

FAQ

What does the name Donna mean?

Lady. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Donna)

How do you pronounce Donna?

Donna is pronounced DON-uh (IPA: /ˈdɒnə/).

Is Donna a popular name right now?

Donna peaked at #5 in 1959 and is ranked #1941 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1880–2024.)

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