Page 7 | Donald or Donalbain

Wildflowersweet · 2026-01-08T12:26:08+00:00

Again, two classic Scottish names. Donalbain is the name of a much beloved uncle we lost during Covid so is close to my heart. Donald is more common. Both I like.

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Florabella · 08/01/2026 15:53

I prefer Donal. Also Scottish and have a lot of Donalds in the family, but I think of it more as an old man’s name because of that. Donal sounds a bit more of this time

AppropriateAdult · 08/01/2026 15:51

I think it’s batshit to discount a relatively common and traditional name, just because it happens to be associated with a particular person. It’s giving them way too much power. If you like Donald, I wouldn’t be put off. Donal might be a nice compromise, though?

Abracadabra12345 · 08/01/2026 15:50

IDontLikeMondays88 · 08/01/2026 14:46

ah the English think they know better than actual Scots actually living in Scotland who all say Donald is fine as a name and wouldn’t necessarily be associated with Trump. It’s more likely to be associated with Duck to be perfectly honest. The usual English superiority…

What an unpleasant post

Tighteningmybelt · 08/01/2026 15:50

Nope and yes Jeffery would be a no for me too

Jugendstiel · 08/01/2026 15:47

Also, with Donalbain, you can shorten it to Donal which is great and almost identical to Donald but without the connotations.

Jugendstiel · 08/01/2026 15:46

Donalbain is cool. I only know it from Shakespeare but if it is a family name, go for it.

I think the thing with the names you mention is that there are many Andrews and Jeffs and Jimmys with excellent reputations so the names are associated with one person. But Donald is a less common name these days, and world history is heading towards it being a name strongly associated with him and his actions.

BoredZelda · 08/01/2026 15:44

MadameTwoSwords · 08/01/2026 15:35

Both absolute howlers and likely to get the poor kid teased for life. And I'm Scottish living in Scotland, and work with children.

It's always parents with nice, normal, unremarkable names themselves that think it'd be "fun" and "individual" to mark their children out like this. Don't.

Edited

Oh don’t be ridiculous. It’s a traditional name.

BoredZelda · 08/01/2026 15:43

Wildflowersweet · 08/01/2026 14:24

So all those people saying to not use Donald because of Trump would also advise not to use Andrew or Jeffrey because of Jeffery Epstein or Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? Never use Jimmy because of Jimmy Saville? Come on, folks. Where do you draw the line? It’s a classic name that has served a lot of Scottish men over time. Nothing wrong with it. Examine your wee, prejudiced heads.

I agree. It is a very, very common name in Scotland. I work with about a dozen of them. I wouldn’t link the two, despite every other conversation in our house being about Trump. I can’t remember the last time I saw a baby Donald. I think it’s lovely. It was my Granda’s name.

Kumquatzest · 08/01/2026 15:42

Donald seems very dated to me. Plus there are the inevitable Trump and Duck associations. There are plenty of Scottish boy's names that aren't dated or loaded with problematic associations.

I've never heard of Donalbain before.

ThePerfectWeekend · 08/01/2026 15:39

At DS's wedding I was surprised to hear all his friends and groomsmen call him Don or 'The Don.' Donald is his middle name. We named him after DH's late DF, long before Trump was around. He doesn't mind it.

BalladOfBarryAndFreda · 08/01/2026 15:38

Oh come on

derxa · 08/01/2026 15:36

nondrinker1985 · 08/01/2026 15:18

Donald will become like Adolf - no one will use it anymore. Don’t lumbar your child with that name.

lumber

MadameTwoSwords · 08/01/2026 15:35

Both absolute howlers and likely to get the poor kid teased for life. And I'm Scottish living in Scotland, and work with children.

It's always parents with nice, normal, unremarkable names themselves that think it'd be "fun" and "individual" to mark their children out like this. Don't.

Musicaltheatremum · 08/01/2026 15:33

I'm.married to a Donald. It's a lovely name.

nondrinker1985 · 08/01/2026 15:18

Donald will become like Adolf - no one will use it anymore. Don’t lumbar your child with that name.

HoldingTheDoor · 08/01/2026 15:16

IDontLikeMondays88 · 08/01/2026 14:46

ah the English think they know better than actual Scots actually living in Scotland who all say Donald is fine as a name and wouldn’t necessarily be associated with Trump. It’s more likely to be associated with Duck to be perfectly honest. The usual English superiority…

I’m Scottish and I immediately think of Trump(And the duck). Trump is an extremely well known Donald so I’d be surprised if he didn’t come to mind for at least some people.

I’d be very surprised to meet a baby Donald though. I know a few and they’re all elderly men or well into middle age. It isn’t a name that I’d expect to hear on a young child now but that may vary by region.

FriendlyFlame · 08/01/2026 15:14

WeekendMillionaire · 08/01/2026 14:54

If Donald is OK locally then I'm sure it's OK. Do you like Dugald?

But there's no guarantee the child will remain in Scotland.

APatternGrammar · 08/01/2026 15:13

It's a developing situation and you don't know how it will end, so I wouldn't use Donald right now. It may fall out of favour even in Scotland in a year or two. So Donalbain or something else.

YourWinter · 08/01/2026 15:12

Wildflowersweet · 08/01/2026 14:24

So all those people saying to not use Donald because of Trump would also advise not to use Andrew or Jeffrey because of Jeffery Epstein or Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? Never use Jimmy because of Jimmy Saville? Come on, folks. Where do you draw the line? It’s a classic name that has served a lot of Scottish men over time. Nothing wrong with it. Examine your wee, prejudiced heads.

I imagine people are avoiding all those names, given the current media attention.

DitzyDerbyBabe86 · 08/01/2026 15:10

Both awful.

OpalBerry · 08/01/2026 15:10

IDontLikeMondays88 · 08/01/2026 14:46

ah the English think they know better than actual Scots actually living in Scotland who all say Donald is fine as a name and wouldn’t necessarily be associated with Trump. It’s more likely to be associated with Duck to be perfectly honest. The usual English superiority…

Why ask on a forum with its HQ in England then if you are prejudiced against the English and don't want to hear from them?

wishingonastar101 · 08/01/2026 15:08

IDontLikeMondays88 · 08/01/2026 15:02

Donal is nice
also Duncan
Dougal
Douglas

all have a similar feel

Can't see Dougal without the Magic Roundabout music playing in my head...

wishingonastar101 · 08/01/2026 15:08

Donald is fine for a duck or a madman.

Donalbain sounds like Dunblane to me...

Peter is nice?

JDM625 · 08/01/2026 15:06

Did your uncle have a middle name?

CeciliaMars · 08/01/2026 15:05

Both awful. Sorry.