Dorothea
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Meaning
gift of God
Goes by Dora, Thea. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Dorothea Lange, whose photograph Migrant Mother became a Depression-era icon.
Dorothea's name family
One shared root links 4 names across 2 languages.
Shared root: from Greek Dorothea "gift of God"; the same elements as Theodora, stacked the other way around
The constellation
More branches
Dorothea in song
dorothea
Taylor Swift (2020)
evermore's small-town girl who left for Hollywood, sung by the person back home who still wonders about her.
How popular is Dorothea around the world?
In the United States, 464 babies were named Dorothea between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 22 girls named Dorothea were born in 2025, the 264th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Dorothea is on the official records of the United States, Austria, England and Wales, Ireland, Canada, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 47,000
In the United States, 464 babies were named Dorothea between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dorothea peaked in the 1900s and the 1920s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 3,500
In Austria, 22 girls named Dorothea were born in 2025, the 264th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
England and Wales
1 in 15,000
In England and Wales, 40 girls named Dorothea were born in 2025, the 872nd most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Ireland
1 in 18,000
In Ireland, 3 girls named Dorothea were born in 2025, the 885th most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Canada
1 in 52,000
In Canada, 7 girls named Dorothea were born in 2024, ranked 2,710th among girls that year.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
Spain
1 in 680,000
In Spain, 66 residents are named Dorothea, ranked 10,904th among women, with a mean age of 59.9 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 203 people in Brazil were named Dorothea, ranked 25,129th, with a median age of 72.
Among people named Dorothea living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1930s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Montevideo City
last on record 1982
Dorothea is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
New Zealand
last on record 1933
Dorothea is not on the 2025 record for New Zealand, where names under 10 in a year are excluded at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
last on record 2015
Dorothea is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Dorothea
People given the name Dorothea in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1979. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
The Dorothea deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dorothea truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Dorothea fits with your family’s names and surname.
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