Don
Pronounced D AA1 N (ARPABET)
- 1 syllable
- Peaked 1946
- 145 years in use
- 3 spellings
How popular is Don?
Don is a boys' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 175,479 children — the 207th most common boys' name on record.
Its use has been broadly flat across the past two decades. Its best single year was 1946, when 4,247 children were given it.
Three other spellings are counted in that total — Donn, Dohn and Dahn — because they are pronounced identically.
Spelling variants
These spellings sound identical to Don and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.
- Donn
- Dohn
- Dahn
Nicknames
Don is itself a short form of Donald.
Characteristics
- 1 syllable
Phonetic detail
- Pronunciations:
- D AA1 N · D AE1 N
- Stress pattern:
- 1 · 1
- Syllables:
- 1
Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.
Names like Don
Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.
Sibling names for Don
Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.
Frequently asked questions
- How popular is the name Don?
- Don ranks 207th among boys' names in US records, with 175,479 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 1,034.
- Is Don a unisex name?
- No. Don is recorded almost entirely as a boys' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
- When was Don most popular?
- 1946, when 4,247 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
- How else is Don spelled?
- Donn, Dohn, Dahn. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.