Ladona
Feminine
Ladona joins a front syllable that carries no meaning of its own to a base that could be either of two quite different words. It arrived in American records well before the prefix it resembles became a widespread device, which is part of why it resists a tidy explanation.
How old is the name Ladona?
Ladona first appears in US birth records in 1920 — 105 years ago. The typical Ladona alive today was born around 1959, making them about 66 years old. About 500 people named Ladona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ladona most popular?
Ladona peaked in 1939, reaching #1881 nationally. See the whole 1939 chart.
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ladona
The Latin word for the mistress of a household gave Italian and Spanish their word for a lady, and it also gave a plant one of the most misleading names in botany. Deadly nightshade is called belladonna, beautiful lady, and the usual explanation is cosmetic: an extract of the berries dropped into the eye relaxes the muscle that controls the pupil, so the pupil widens, and wide pupils were thought attractive. Italian women are said to have used it for exactly that. The effect is real and the chemistry is understood — the same compound, atropine, is what an eye doctor uses today to dilate a pupil before examining a retina, and it is also a standard emergency drug for certain kinds of poisoning. The plant that supplies it will kill a child who eats a handful of its berries, and the name says beautiful lady.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No source is documented. The base may be the Italian and Spanish word for a lady, from the Latin domina, or it may be a respelling of a classical name that looks almost identical. The front syllable is a free element with no content. Nothing in the record chooses between the readings.
Pronouncing Ladona
luh-DOH-nuh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle. The front syllable is light enough to disappear in fast speech, which is why the name is sometimes heard as Donna with a stumble in front of it.
Nicknames for Ladona
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
- 1920
- Most girls named
- 197024 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1881reached in 1939
- Change vs 1987
- −16.7%5 in 1992, from 6
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.
Ladonas among us
people named Ladona 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
Ladona 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
- Donna comes off it cleanly and is a complete name on its own.
- Middle stress on three syllables is the most comfortable shape English has.
- It is uncommon without containing anything a reader has to be taught.
- Ladonna with two n's is commoner and will be written for it.
- Nothing is documented about the origin, so both readings have to be offered as guesses.
- The front syllable carries associations with a later naming fashion that this name predates.
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Ladona
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Ladonas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Ladona are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ladona in 2025?
- Ladona is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Ladona with classmates?
- Ladona will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Linda#902 · Lisa#987 · Laura#379 · Lauren#401 · Lillian#57 · Lori#1721 · Louise#514 · Lois#1666
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ladona? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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