Fun Facts About the Name Donavan
- More than 8 thousand babies named Donavan: U.S. records list 8,304 babies given the name Donavan from 1880 through 2025. Even 5 girls received the name Donavan - about 1 girl for every 1,660 boys.
What Does the Name Donavan Mean?
Donavan is a spelling variant of the Irish name Donovan, which comes from the Irish Gaelic surname Ó Donnabháin. The surname is a patronymic meaning "descendant of Donnabhán." The personal name Donnabhán is generally explained as a diminutive of the Irish element donn, meaning "brown" or "brown-haired," with the diminutive suffix -án. In that reading, the underlying sense is "little brown one" or "brown-haired one." Some accounts also connect the name to dubh, meaning "black" or "dark," producing a meaning like "dark brown," but this derivation is not firmly established. The English spelling Donavan uses the same root as Donovan; the difference is only in the vowel of the final syllable.
Donavan Name History & Origins
The name belongs to the Irish surname Ó Donnabháin, borne by a Gaelic Irish clan in Munster. The Ó Donnabháin were a powerful family in the southwest of Ireland, especially in what are now Counties Cork and Limerick. Their name was anglicized in many forms over the centuries, including O'Donovan, Donovan, and Donavan. As English replaced Irish in official records, the prefix Ó was sometimes dropped, and the internal consonants and vowels were changed to fit English spelling habits. The given name Donavan is a later use of the surname as a first name, following a common pattern in English-speaking countries. It is an alternative spelling of Donovan. The surname remains closely associated with the O'Donovan clan and its historical territory in West Cork and County Limerick.
How Popular is the Name Donavan?
Donavan recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 2002. Its best rank was #659 in 1999.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | #14,371 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,426 | 56 | 0.0033% |
| 2024 | #3,225 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2023 | #2,446 | 55 | 0.0032% |
| 2022 | #3,170 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2021 | #2,735 | 46 | 0.0026% |
| 2020 | #2,474 | 52 | 0.0030% |
| 2019 | #2,867 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 2018 | #1,926 | 77 | 0.0042% |
| 2017 | #1,685 | 94 | 0.0051% |
| 2016 | #1,928 | 76 | 0.0040% |
| 2015 | #1,658 | 95 | 0.0050% |
| 2014 | #1,735 | 87 | 0.0045% |
| 2013 | #1,514 | 107 | 0.0057% |
| 2012 | #1,378 | 122 | 0.0064% |
| 2011 | #1,376 | 121 | 0.0064% |
| 2010 | #1,110 | 172 | 0.0090% |
| 2009 | #1,024 | 190 | 0.0096% |
| 2008 | #963 | 208 | 0.0102% |
| 2007 | #910 | 218 | 0.0105% |
| 2006 | #813 | 251 | 0.0122% |
| 2005 | #748 | 269 | 0.0135% |
| 2004 | #732 | 258 | 0.0130% |
| 2003 | #706 | 266 | 0.0135% |
| 2002 | #678 | 270 | 0.0139% |
| 2001 | #680 | 267 | 0.0137% |
| 2000 | #736 | 233 | 0.0119% |
| 1999 | #659 | 262 | 0.0136% |
| 1998 | #689 | 244 | 0.0128% |
| 1997 | #681 | 238 | 0.0126% |
| 1996 | #764 | 193 | 0.0102% |
| 1995 | #816 | 172 | 0.0090% |
| 1994 | #734 | 205 | 0.0106% |
| 1993 | #730 | 203 | 0.0104% |
| 1992 | #703 | 214 | 0.0107% |
| 1991 | #676 | 224 | 0.0111% |
| 1990 | #803 | 160 | 0.0078% |
| 1989 | #759 | 169 | 0.0084% |
| 1988 | #862 | 121 | 0.0063% |
| 1987 | #847 | 122 | 0.0065% |
| 1986 | #874 | 108 | 0.0059% |
| 1985 | #920 | 98 | 0.0053% |
| 1984 | #1,078 | 69 | 0.0038% |
| 1983 | #1,135 | 63 | 0.0035% |
| 1982 | #1,367 | 48 | 0.0026% |
| 1981 | #1,114 | 67 | 0.0037% |
| 1980 | #1,043 | 75 | 0.0042% |
| 1979 | #1,140 | 62 | 0.0036% |
| 1978 | #978 | 78 | 0.0048% |
| 1977 | #928 | 84 | 0.0051% |
| 1976 | #1,015 | 67 | 0.0043% |
| 1975 | #1,023 | 65 | 0.0042% |
| 1974 | #971 | 71 | 0.0045% |
| 1973 | #982 | 68 | 0.0044% |
| 1972 | #852 | 89 | 0.0055% |
| 1971 | #943 | 75 | 0.0042% |
| 1970 | #877 | 85 | 0.0046% |
| 1969 | #805 | 92 | 0.0051% |
| 1968 | #1,323 | 34 | 0.0020% |
| 1967 | #1,046 | 49 | 0.0028% |
| 1966 | #1,547 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1965 | #1,532 | 26 | 0.0014% |
| 1964 | #1,624 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1963 | #1,711 | 22 | 0.0011% |
| 1962 | #1,774 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1961 | #1,751 | 22 | 0.0010% |
| 1960 | #2,238 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1959 | #1,473 | 29 | 0.0014% |
| 1958 | #2,404 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1957 | #2,298 | 13 | 0.0006% |
| 1956 | #1,656 | 23 | 0.0011% |
| 1955 | #1,803 | 19 | 0.0009% |
| 1954 | #1,846 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1953 | #2,120 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1952 | #2,097 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1951 | #1,741 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1950 | #3,819 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1949 | #2,493 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1948 | #2,491 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1947 | #2,274 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1946 | #2,056 | 13 | 0.0008% |
| 1945 | #1,949 | 13 | 0.0010% |
| 1944 | #2,348 | 10 | 0.0007% |
| 1943 | #3,675 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1942 | #1,888 | 15 | 0.0011% |
| 1941 | #2,709 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1940 | #2,106 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1939 | #1,817 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1938 | #2,008 | 13 | 0.0012% |
| 1937 | #2,984 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1936 | #2,689 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1935 | #2,426 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1934 | #2,438 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1933 | #3,085 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1932 | #2,686 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1931 | #1,716 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1930 | #2,646 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1929 | #1,870 | 17 | 0.0016% |
| 1926 | #3,821 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #2,799 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1924 | #2,695 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1923 | #3,558 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #3,320 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1921 | #4,510 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1920 | #3,016 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #2,937 | 9 | 0.0009% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Donavan Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are strong in material matters, determined and stubborn. You have good business ability. You are a good worker, steady and practical, a builder who takes responsibility well. These qualities may bring you a position of authority and power. You are a doer, down-to-earth, serious-minded, reliable, and self-disciplined; have good power of concentration. You are frank, methodical and believe in law, system and order.
Position and social status is very important for you and you are always looking for way to improve your position in society. You have power and ability to chose your own destiny and achieve anything you want in life. You can expand in any direction according to your will and the set of values. You have passion for justice and belong to the position of authority. You have an inherent courage and endurance to accomplish "The Impossible Dream". With the power comes responsibility. You hold keys to the material world, but with this gift comes high spiritual responsibility to be fair and true to others. You are philosophical and mature, determined and intense with a desire to endure, often religious.
✦ Donavan's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Donavan's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.