# Dorothy (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/dorothy/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Greek |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɔɹ.ə.θi/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Doll, Dot, Dodie, Dottie, Dotty, Dorrie |
| Variant spellings | Dorothea |
| US babies named this | 1,115,908 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 3,677 / 1,112,231 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 3,357, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa).

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 279 | 927 |
| 2012 | 279 | 922 |
| 2013 | 335 | 806 |
| 2014 | 385 | 727 |
| 2015 | 398 | 714 |
| 2016 | 456 | 644 |
| 2017 | 507 | 590 |
| 2018 | 530 | 580 |
| 2019 | 546 | 561 |
| 2020 | 565 | 535 |
| 2021 | 649 | 483 |
| 2022 | 645 | 487 |
| 2023 | 664 | 463 |
| 2024 | 718 | 430 |
| 2025 | 743 | 421 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1963 | 10 | 2,723 |
| 1964 | 12 | 2,450 |
| 1965 | 13 | 2,294 |
| 1966 | 12 | 2,364 |
| 1967 | 12 | 2,392 |
| 1968 | 11 | 2,611 |
| 1969 | 12 | 2,576 |
| 1970 | 5 | 4,910 |
| 1972 | 7 | 4,105 |
| 1973 | 7 | 4,197 |
| 1975 | 5 | 5,703 |
| 1981 | 5 | 6,544 |
| 1983 | 6 | 5,673 |
| 1985 | 5 | 6,826 |
| 1989 | 6 | 7,239 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 67 | 603 |
| 2012 | 58 | 709 |
| 2013 | 107 | 397 |
| 2014 | 126 | 359 |
| 2015 | 138 | 343 |
| 2016 | 181 | 274 |
| 2017 | 199 | 250 |
| 2018 | 206 | 246 |
| 2019 | 265 | 187 |
| 2020 | 288 | 175 |
| 2021 | 289 | 177 |
| 2022 | 272 | 187 |
| 2023 | 250 | 199 |
| 2024 | 251 | 193 |
| 2025 | 253 | 199 |

## In other languages

- Armenian: Դորոթեա
- Bulgarian: Доротея, Дороти
- Catalan: Dorotea
- Chinese: 多蘿西 /多萝西
- Czech: Dorota
- Danish: Dorthea, Dorte, Dorthe
- Esperanto: Doroteo
- Estonian: Tiiu
- Finnish: Tea, Teija
- French: Dorothée
- German: Dorothea
- Greek: Δωροθέα
- Hungarian: Dorottya
- Italian: Dorotea
- Japanese: ドロテア, ドロシー
- Latin: Dorothea
- Latvian: Doroteja
- Lithuanian: Dorotėja
- Polish: Dorota
- Portuguese: Doroteia

## People named Dorothy

- Dorothy Hodgkin, British chemist
- Dorothy Parker, American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist (1893-1967)
- Dorothy L. Sayers, English crime writer, playwright, essayist and Christian writer (1893-1957)
- Dorothy Malone, American actress (1924-2018)
- Dorothy Day, American journalist, social activist, and Catholic convert (1897-1980)
- Dorothy Dandridge, American actress and singer (1922–1965)
- Dorothy Lamour, American actress and singer (1914-1996)
- Dorothy McGuire, American actress (1916-2001)
- Dorothy Vaughan, African-American mathematician
- Dorothy Gish, American actress (1898–1968)
- Dorothy Allison, American writer, poet, novelist, critic (1949–2024)
- Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist and first female Professor at the University of Cambridge (1892-1968

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.