Etymology & Historical Origin of the Baby Name Donte

Donte (sometimes rendered as Donté with an accent mark over the “e”) is an African-American spin on the Latin name Dante. Dante is a contracted form of the Italian Durante which means “steadfast, enduring” from the Latin "durus" meaning “hard, firm”. The name Dante was most famously borne by Dante Alighieri, the 13th century poet who gave the world one of the greatest pieces of medieval literature: “La Grande Commedia” or in English, The Divine Comedy. This masterpiece is divided into three parts (the Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso) and tells of Dante’s journey through Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. In other words, it’s an allegory of the soul’s journey toward God. Dante himself wrote that the Comedy was a passage from “the human to the divine, from time to the eternal, from Florence to a people just and sane.” (Dante had been exiled to Rome from his home in Florence, but after the success of his epic poem throughout Italy, he was readily invited back). Donte/Donté was coined by African-Americans during the early 1970s.

All About the Baby Name – Donte

Personality

OF THE BOY NAME DONTE

The Master Number Twenty-Two combines the traits of Twos and Fours into a powerful force. The references to The Master Builder and "large undertakings" serve to underscore the massive potential of this personality. They are extremely capable and therefore almost always successful. Twenty-Twos are courageous leaders, innovative thinkers, extremely wise and highly organized. As such, they are able to manifest something of major importance that will have a lasting impact on this world. Master Numbers carry with them a great sense of responsibility, so it can be a burden. However, Twenty-Twos are executors and action-takers. Further, this personality exhibits traits of the Twos, which brings sensitivity, spirituality and harmony, so their endeavors are likely to benefit mankind in some capacity.

Popularity

OF THE BOY NAME DONTE

Donte first appeared on the American male naming charts in 1971 amidst a Cultural Revolution taking place in the country. Following the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, Black Americans began to reclaim their own unique identity after years of oppression. One example of this re-possession came in the form of how African-Americans henceforth named their children. Several trends began to emerge in the 1970s (invented names, blending of names, African names, Arabic names, etc). Donte/Donté is an example of a simple respelling of an existing name (in this case Dante). Donte became more distinctly Black. Donté with the accent mark adds extra pizzazz to differentiate the name even more. As a name mostly restricted to the African-American community (roughly 14% of the U.S. population), Donte has done quite well in terms of usage. During the 1980s and 90s it was often a Top 100 name choice in the District of Columbia. Today, however, Donte is so rarely used that it’s in danger of dropping off the Top 1000 list altogether.

Quick Facts

ON DONTE

GENDER:

Boy

ORIGIN:

African-American

NUMBER OF SYLLABLES:

2

RANKING POPULARITY:

914

PRONUNCIATION:

DON-tay

SIMPLE MEANING:

Steadfast, enduring

Characteristics

OF DONTE

The Master Builder

Leader

Large Undertakings

Confidence

Discipline

Organization

Cultural References to the Baby Name – Donte

Literary Characters

OF THE BABY NAME DONTE

We cannot find any significant literary characters by the name of Donte

Childrens Books

ON THE BABY NAME DONTE

We cannot find any childrens books with the first name Donte


Popular Songs

ON DONTE

We cannot find any popular or well-known songs with the name of Donte


Famous People

NAMED DONTE

Donté Stallworth (football player)
Donté Greene (basketball player)
Donte Whitner (football player)
Donté Curry (football player)
Donte Nicholson (football player)

Children of Famous People

NAMED DONTE

We cannot find any children of famous people with the first name Donte

Historic Figures

WITH THE NAME DONTE

We cannot find any historically significant people with the first name Donte