Donald Trump sparks unexpected baby name trend

It looks like Donald Trump has had a huge impact on what parents are naming their babies in America - just not in the way he’d hoped.

Now, we all know that baby names can be massively influenced by pop culture, whether that’s TV and film characters, celebrities, or even songs.

For example, Taylor Swift’s hit ‘The Fate of Ophelia’ contributed to a spike in the name's usage, and the name ‘Isabel’ saw a surge after The Summer I Turned Pretty’s finale.

During its heyday, Game of Thrones had a huge impact on popular monikers, with previously unheard of names like Sansa, Arya, and even Daenerys climbing the charts.

But sadly, the US President’s impact is one of a different kind, as new data has revealed that fewer Americans are naming their children ‘Donald’ than ever.

NOTUS and The Independent reported that stats maintained by the Social Security Administration show that 2025 was the lowest point in recorded history for the name.

The name 'Donald' has been falling in popularity for years (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The agency reportedly received fewer than 400 Social Security card applications for babies called Donald last year.

The publication outlines that during Trump’s second term, the first name Donald ranks 690th among the most popular names in the US.

However, allegedly, the popularity of the name began to go downhill even before the Republican leader entered the world of politics.

Trump was born in 1946 at a time shortly after the name had become popular, remaining in the top 100 monikers throughout the 1990s.

Then, according to The Independent, it fell to 263 in 2004, which was the first year The Apprentice was on screens, fronted by Trump.

In 2016, when he was first elected as President of the US, the name Donald again became rarer, falling to 489.

While it did rise slightly in 2017, now, as mentioned, it’s currently fallen again to the 690 mark.

Of course, it is probably more likely that the name has simply become less popular, but nevertheless, people are pointing out the links and finding them an interesting comparison.

Reportedly, last year less than 400 babies were given the moniker (Getty Stock Image)

Sticking to the presidential influence theory, the outlet also points out that the name Joseph fell to its lowest ranking in over two decades in 2024, the same year that Joe Biden left office.

As for the names Barack and Obama, they’ve never reached the top 1000 list.

Although the name Melania did apparently see a spike in 2017 when Trump was inaugurated the first time around.

But since then, it’s remained firmly out of any rankings.

Commenting on the lack of baby Donalds, one X user wrote: “To be fair, it was a really terrible name even before Trump,” while a second added: “Well, that's certainly understandable!”

Tyla has contacted the White House for comment.