Dorothy
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Meaning
gift of God
Goes by Dee, Dolly, Dot, Dottie. See all nicknames
Famously borne by Dorothy Hodgkin, chemist and Nobel laureate who advanced X-ray crystallography.
The story
Dorothy is Greek, Dorothea, gift of God, the same two words as Theodora in reverse order. Around the turn of the twentieth century it was everywhere, one of the reigning American girls' names of the 1900s and 1910s, filling classrooms decades before a certain Kansas farm girl put on the ruby slippers. By the time the 1939 film of The Wizard of Oz made Dorothy Gale immortal, the name was already sliding, and not even Judy Garland could stop it; it fell steadily for half a century, reaching its quietest stretch late in the century. Now the pendulum has begun its slow return. Like Hazel and Eleanor before it, Dorothy has been creeping back upward in recent years, a great-grandmother name ready for new hands. Gift of God, said the Greeks. Somewhere over the rainbow, said everyone after 1939.
Dorothy'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
How popular is Dorothy around the world?
In the United States, 3,984 babies were named Dorothy between 2020 and 2025. In England and Wales, 253 girls named Dorothy were born in 2025, the 199th most common name among girls that year.
Dorothy is on the official records of the United States, England and Wales, South Australia, Canada, Ireland, Austria, Mexico City, Chile, Spain and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,500
In the United States, 3,984 babies were named Dorothy between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Dorothy peaked in the 1900s and the 1910s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
England and Wales
1 in 2,300
In England and Wales, 253 girls named Dorothy were born in 2025, the 199th 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
South Australia
1 in 4,6002017
In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Dorothy in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Canada
1 in 6,600
In Canada, 55 girls named Dorothy were born in 2024, the 536th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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)
Ireland
1 in 9,000
In Ireland, 6 girls named Dorothy were born in 2025, the 544th most common name among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
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
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 girl named Dorothy was born in 2025, ranked 1,875th among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 2 in a year, too few to chart.
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)
Mexico City City
1 in 120,000
In Mexico City, there was 1 registration of Dorothy in 2022.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 180,000
In Chile, 1 girl was registered as Dorothy in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Spain
1 in 270,000
In Spain, 168 residents are named Dorothy, ranked 5,099th among women, with a mean age of 65 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 330,000
At the 2022 census, 572 people in Brazil were named Dorothy, ranked 12,195th, with a median age of 67.
Among people named Dorothy living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1940s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 25 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. 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
Argentina
last on record 2021
Dorothy is not on the 2024 record for Argentina, where small counts are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Montevideo City
last on record 2006
Dorothy 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 South Wales
outside the top 100
Dorothy is not in the 2025 top 100 for New South Wales.
share of that year’s top-100 registrations
New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names
New Zealand
last on record 2022
Dorothy 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
Poland
last on record 2019
Dorothy is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)
Scotland
last on record 2022
Dorothy is not on the 2024 record for Scotland, where spellings under 3 in total are suppressed at source.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.
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 Dorothy
People given the name Dorothy in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1940 to 1969. 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
Nicknames for Dorothy · Names of geniuses and inventors · Iconic movie character names
The Dorothy deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Dorothy 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 Dorothy fits with your family’s names and surname.
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