Donnel
Masculine
Donnel is given to both — 776 boys and 47 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Donnel is recorded for boys and girls alike and is almost certainly an Irish surname with a letter or two shed. The family it points at ruled the north-west of Ireland, and one of them made the most famous prison escape in Irish history.
How old is the name Donnel?
Donnel first appears in US birth records in 1922 — 103 years ago. The typical Donnel alive today was born around 1974, making them about 51 years old. About 600 people named Donnel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Donnel most popular?
Donnel peaked in 1968, reaching #1894 nationally. See the whole 1968 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Donnel
Hugh Roe O'Donnell was taken as a teenager, by trickery, and held in Dublin Castle as a hostage for his family's good behavior. He escaped twice. The second attempt, in midwinter, took him and two companions over the Wicklow mountains through deep snow with no proper clothing; one of the party died, and O'Donnell lost two toes to frostbite and walked with difficulty for the rest of his life. He got home, was inaugurated as chief, and spent the next decade leading one of the most serious challenges the English crown faced in Ireland. He died in Spain in his twenties, trying to raise another army.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Irish name behind the surname is old and its elements are documented. Whether this spelling is that surname shortened, or a build on a free front syllable with a common ending, is not recorded, and the record holds it for both sexes.
Pronouncing Donnel
DON-ul
Two syllables with the stress in front and a light ending. duh-NELL is also heard.
Nicknames for Donnel
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
- 1922
- Most boys named
- 198020 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1894reached in 1968
- Change vs 2013
- −40.0%6 in 2017, from 10
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.
Donnel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Ó Domhnaill in Irish — related form
Donnels among us
people named Donnel are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Donnel sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Don and Nell are both available as short forms and both are established names.
- It is read correctly at first sight and rarely needs spelling twice.
- It is recorded for boys and for girls, so it leaves a question open rather than closing it.
- The spelling is recorded for a few girls, but nearly every child with it is a boy.
- Donnell, Donell and Darnell are all in the record and will be confused with it.
- Two stress patterns are in circulation and the spelling settles neither.
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Donnel
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Donnels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Donnel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Donnel in 2025?
- Donnel is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Donnel with classmates?
- Donnel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More D names
The most-given names starting with D, all years combined.
David#35 · Daniel#22 · Donald#690 · Dennis#707 · Douglas#807 · Dylan#41 · Danny#628 · Dale#1409
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Donnel? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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