Donat surname: meaning, census count and records | FamilyCrests

The Donat surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,192 people carried this name — #21,811 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 250,000 people counted. That is up 15% from 1,038 in 2000.

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What the name means

The meaning of the Donat surname

From the Medieval Latin saint's name Donatus, the past participle of donare (“to give”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Donát» (Czech), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 732 people named Donat.

53 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 72 départements, most often Vaucluse.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 53
Vaucluse 72
Haute-Garonne 61
Bouches-du-Rhône 48
Martinique 42
Pyrénées-Orientales 40
Var 29
Ariège 28
Paris 25

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In Poland’s population register

317 people named Donat have a registered home in Poland.

Of the 416 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 11 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Silesian.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Silesian 80
Opole 78
Masovian 56
Greater Poland 31
Lubusz 19
Łódź 15
Warmian-Masurian 15
West Pomeranian 13

PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.

In Argentina’s national register

At least 186 people named Donat live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Salta.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Salta 102
Córdoba 36
Misiones 35
Buenos Aires Province 13

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

100 people named Donat live in Switzerland.

They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

Zurich 33
Aargau 26
Basel-Landschaft 10
Thurgau 6
St. Gallen 5
Bern 5
Solothurn 5
Ticino 4

Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.

Who carried it

People named Donat,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Sven Donat 1755–1815 · musician
  • Johann Wilhelm Donat 1786–1849 · industrialist
  • Frederick Reginald Donat 1830–1907 · painter
  • Theodor Donat 1844–1890 · teacher
  • Charles Donat 1850–1880 · historian
  • Franz Donat 1863– · subject teacher

Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Donat.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Donat is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See what a volume holds
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