 It is shown as "Donko" in Mercator's "Atlas" (1596), and as "Donkagorod" in Resania in Joan Blaeu's map of 1645.By the 18th century, its spelling changed from Donkov to Dankov.The town was chartered by Catherine the Great but was demoted in status to that of a rural locality between 1796 and 1804 and again between 1924 and 1959.