Boy · Irish
Donovan
Say it: DON-uh-vun
Meaning
From the Irish surname Ó Donndubháin 'descendant of Donndubhán', from donn 'brown' and dubh 'dark' plus a diminutive.
Likelythe main view, with some doubt.
Used as a first name in the US since the early 20th century.
Its wave through time
Most used in the 2000s
In the United States
- 58,584 babies given this name since 1900
- At its height in 2003, about 1 in 893 boys
- 820 babies in 2020
Through the ages
Used by
The family of the name
Other spellings: Donavan
Famous bearers
- Donovan, Scottish singer-songwriter
- Donovan McNabb, American football quarterback
Names worth a look
Where this comes from
- The Irish annals and early Irish literature
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
- United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.
Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.