Donato
Masculine · “given”
There is a whole family of Latin names meaning given, and all of them mean given by God with the God left out. Donatus, Deodatus, Adeodatus and the Spanish Diosdado are the same idea at different lengths, and Donato is the shortest of them.
How old is the name Donato?
Donato first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Donato alive today was born around 1969, making them about 56 years old. About 2,000 people named Donato are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Donato most popular?
Donato peaked in 1926, reaching #916 nationally. Today it ranks #6446, 5,530 places below that high. See the whole 1926 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From donare to Donato
The story of Donato
Names of this kind belong to a specific moment in late antiquity, when Christian families began naming children for the circumstance of their birth rather than for an ancestor or a god: a child long prayed for was Donatus or Deodatus, one born at Christmas was Natalis, one born after a death was Renatus, reborn. Several saints called Donatus followed, and a fourth-century bishop of the name gave his to the Donatist controversy that occupied Augustine for decades. Italian and Spanish kept Donato in steady use, and it reached United States records with Italian migration, peaking in 1926.
Meaning
given
Latin Donatus, the past participle of donare, to give, so literally the given one. In Christian use the implied giver is God, and the longer forms make that explicit: Deodatus and Adeodatus both mean given by God. Augustine's son was called Adeodatus. Donato is the Italian and Spanish descendant of the short form.
How the name formed
- donare
- Donatus
- Donato
Related forms: Donato · Donato · Donato · Donat · Donat
Pronouncing Donato
doh-NAH-toh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. Identical in Italian and Spanish; English speakers often say duh-NAH-toh, reducing the first vowel.
Nicknames for Donato
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1890
- Most boys named
- 192347 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #916reached in 1926
- Change vs 2023
- −38.1%13 in 2025, from 21
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Donato in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Donato in Italian — same name
- Donato in Spanish — same name
- Donato in Portuguese — same name
- Donat in French — same name
- Donat in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: New York, New Jersey, Texas.
Donatos among us
people named Donato are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 131,390 born in 2025 was named Donato
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Hansel test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Donato's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Hansel climbed just as high around 1905, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Hansel's path sketches the road Donato is walking now.
Donato sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Donato beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Donato in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Latin meaning that can be given in one word.
- Recognized across Italy, Spain, Portugal, France and Poland.
- Dino and Don are two established short forms in different traditions.
- Donald and Donato are close enough to be confused in American ears.
- The English clip Don carries a specific mid-century association.
- It reads as an older generation's name in Italy.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Donato to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Donato? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Donato
Masculine · #6446 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Donatos are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,000 people named Donato are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Donato in 2025?
- Donato ranks #6446 among US boy names in 2025, with 13 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Donato?
- About 1 in every 131,390 US boys born in 2025 was named Donato — 13 in all.
- Will my child share the name Donato with classmates?
- Donato will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Donato
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rollie#6446 · Billie#6446 · Worth#6446 · Blas#6446 · Starling#6446 · Alvis#6446 · Elwyn#6446 · Rollin#6446
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Donato? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Donato and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle