Donyell is a unique and exotic name of African American origin. It is composed of two elements: "Don" which means "judge" or "leader", and "Yell" which is a variation of the name Yael, meaning "mountain goat" in Hebrew.
The name Donyell was popularized by American actress and comedian, Whoopi Goldberg, who gave this name to her daughter. However, its use can be traced back even further to the late 19th century, when it appeared on US census records.
Despite its African American roots and association with Whoopi Goldberg, Donyell is not widely used today. It remains a unique and distinctive name that stands out from more common names. Its meaning as "judge" or "leader" may appeal to parents looking for a strong and powerful name for their child. Overall, Donyell is an interesting and unusual name with a rich history and meaningful origins.
Statistics on the given name Donyell show that it has seen varying popularity over several decades in the United States. From its first recorded appearance in 1969 with just five births, the name peaked in popularity during the late 1970s to early 1980s.
The years 1973 and 1974 saw significant increases, with 23 and 32 births respectively. This trend continued into 1975 and 1976, with 22 and 27 births recorded each year. The highest number of births for this name occurred in the year 1980, with a total of 24 newborns sharing the name Donyell.
However, popularity began to decline steadily after that peak. From 1983 onwards, the number of annual births fell below 16 each year until 1989 when it reached an all-time low of just six births.
The name's popularity picked up slightly in the mid-1990s with 28 births recorded in 1994. However, this was not sustained and numbers continued to fluctuate around single digits until 2017 where there were again five recorded births.
Overall, over a span of approximately 50 years (from 1969 to 2017), there have been a total of 509 babies born in the United States with the name Donyell. These statistics demonstrate how trends in naming can change dramatically over time.