Dorothy

#421 for girls in 2025, 743 births · Last seen for boys in 1989 at #6,941
Given to girls 99.7% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · girls
1924 · 39,996 births
Debut · girls
112 births
In top 100 · girls
72 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · girls
1,112,231
since 1880

Dorothy over time

girls

Rank among girls' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201934peak #2, 1924girls
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#421743—
2024#429718—
2023#463664—
2022#486645—
2021#483649—
2020#535565—
2019#561546—
2018#580530—
2017#590507—
2016#644456—
2015#714398—
2014#727385—
2013#806335—
2012#922279—
2011#927279—
2010#1,027243—
2009#1,116227—
2008#1,070244—
2007#1,003263—
2006#976267—
2005#1,025237—
2004#848290—
2003#835292—
2002#867264—
2001#750319—
2000#736314—
1999#678335—
1998#710312—
1997#682316—
1996#640350—
1995#597377—
1994#549443—
1993#515476—
1992#486509—
1991#486497—
1990#426596—
1989#398620#6,9416
1988#396608—
1987#381614—
1986#373629—
1985#332719#6,5235
1984#340681—
1983#305759#5,4846
1982#298829—
1981#307788#6,2625
1980#278896—
1979#272890—
1978#260914—
1977#269933—
1976#240982—
1975#250976#5,4645
1974#2321,098—
1973#2151,175#4,0547
1972#2181,273#3,9637
1971#1911,624—
1970#1801,799#4,7245
1969#1811,776#2,54912
1968#1572,086#2,57611
1967#1482,314#2,35212
1966#1362,664#2,32712
1965#1302,961#2,27013
1964#1183,533#2,40912
1963#1163,796#2,67310
1962#1114,073#2,03516
1961#994,732#2,32213
1960#955,076#1,77221
1959#945,231#2,20014
1958#865,539#1,76620
1957#746,405#1,51127
1956#726,858#1,67622
1955#647,242#1,39630
1954#557,789#1,62822
1953#498,162#1,76519
1952#468,609#1,51725
1951#429,089#1,34430
1950#359,551#1,36428
1949#3210,410#1,40927
1948#2911,324#1,48724
1947#2612,753#1,29732
1946#2312,797#1,06042
1945#2112,323#86452
1944#1913,379#93547
1943#1914,793#80866
1942#1715,037#82162
1941#1414,566#72972
1940#1214,875#65385
1939#915,169#69573
1938#816,358#59099
1937#816,572#70073
1936#617,666#573101
1935#619,406#525121
1934#521,281#549116
1933#422,054#524117
1932#424,974#558112
1931#326,524#478141
1930#330,411#480153
1929#331,476#536118
1928#333,733#552122
1927#235,993#553124
1926#236,618#563119
1925#238,570#63999
1924#239,996#638101
1923#239,043#66892
1922#237,716#84066
1921#239,087#69287
1920#236,643#75476
1919#331,733#79966
1918#332,030#85559
1917#328,852#82260
1916#327,418#69872
1915#325,154#94144
1914#318,782#85540
1913#314,674#69643
1912#312,645#64942
1911#48,869#53331
1910#47,318#58224
1909#56,253#50526
1908#65,703#58519
1907#64,967#51121
1906#64,326#50320
1905#73,937#74111
1904#103,477#53817
1903#113,078#9107
1902#152,707#9337
1901#222,173—
1900#272,491#9688
1899#351,687#7868
1898#431,671—
1897#431,472#9426
1896#461,366—
1895#571,127#1,0795
1894#581,052#8577
1893#68821—
1892#79626—
1891#76566—
1890#93458—
1889#102377—
1888#103373—
1887#111272—
1886#122230—
1885#128196—
1884#137163—
1883#137141—
1882#150115—
1881#144109—
1880#139112—
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Dorothy was already there! It came in at #139, and was given to 112 baby girls.


Quietest stretch: 1880–1884, when fewer than 170 girls a year got the name.

Where Dorothy is popular in 1934

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Dorothy, so not publishedAKMaine: #5 for girls · 128 births · 1 in 49 girlsMEVermont: #12 for girls · 50 births · 1 in 48 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #8 for girls · 69 births · 1 in 43 girlsNHWashington: #12 for girls · 159 births · 1 in 58 girlsWAIdaho: #10 for girls · 58 births · 1 in 58 girlsIDMontana: #5 for girls · 85 births · 1 in 42 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #6 for girls · 121 births · 1 in 47 girlsNDMinnesota: #11 for girls · 341 births · 1 in 56 girlsMNIllinois: #7 for girls · 1,058 births · 1 in 47 girlsILWisconsin: #12 for girls · 393 births · 1 in 56 girlsWIMichigan: #12 for girls · 637 births · 1 in 57 girlsMINew York: #5 for girls · 1,612 births · 1 in 51 girlsNYMassachusetts: #6 for girls · 639 births · 1 in 44 girlsMARhode Island: #5 for girls · 121 births · 1 in 34 girlsRIOregon: #11 for girls · 80 births · 1 in 63 girlsORNevada: #13 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 41 girlsNVWyoming: #7 for girls · 37 births · 1 in 39 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #5 for girls · 124 births · 1 in 42 girlsSDIowa: #9 for girls · 361 births · 1 in 50 girlsIAIndiana: #11 for girls · 371 births · 1 in 60 girlsINOhio: #8 for girls · 881 births · 1 in 51 girlsOHPennsylvania: #6 for girls · 1,630 births · 1 in 44 girlsPANew Jersey: #5 for girls · 567 births · 1 in 42 girlsNJConnecticut: #5 for girls · 250 births · 1 in 37 girlsCTCalifornia: #9 for girls · 516 births · 1 in 66 girlsCAUtah: #11 for girls · 69 births · 1 in 64 girlsUTColorado: #5 for girls · 206 births · 1 in 38 girlsCONebraska: #9 for girls · 198 births · 1 in 52 girlsNEMissouri: #6 for girls · 625 births · 1 in 43 girlsMOKentucky: #4 for girls · 564 births · 1 in 48 girlsKYWest Virginia: #6 for girls · 323 births · 1 in 57 girlsWVVirginia: #4 for girls · 627 births · 1 in 37 girlsVAMaryland: #4 for girls · 312 births · 1 in 37 girlsMDDelaware: #8 for girls · 41 births · 1 in 34 girlsDEArizona: #8 for girls · 58 births · 1 in 64 girlsAZNew Mexico: #10 for girls · 61 births · 1 in 81 girlsNMKansas: #7 for girls · 240 births · 1 in 55 girlsKSArkansas: #3 for girls · 460 births · 1 in 41 girlsARTennessee: #3 for girls · 797 births · 1 in 34 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #3 for girls · 875 births · 1 in 42 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #3 for girls · 559 births · 1 in 37 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #7 for girls · 96 births · 1 in 41 girlsDCOklahoma: #7 for girls · 396 births · 1 in 57 girlsOKLouisiana: #3 for girls · 607 births · 1 in 34 girlsLAMississippi: #2 for girls · 657 births · 1 in 32 girlsMSAlabama: #3 for girls · 831 births · 1 in 35 girlsALGeorgia: #3 for girls · 754 births · 1 in 40 girlsGAHawaii: #11 for girls · 54 births · 1 in 55 girlsHITexas: #3 for girls · 1,245 births · 1 in 46 girlsTXFlorida: #4 for girls · 327 births · 1 in 36 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Mississippi#2 · 1 in 32
  2. Tennessee#3 · 1 in 34
  3. Louisiana#3 · 1 in 34
  4. Alabama#3 · 1 in 35
  5. South Carolina#3 · 1 in 37

Best ever in a state: #1 in Oregon, 1910.

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Mississippi#26571 in 32
Alabama#38311 in 35
Arkansas#34601 in 41
Georgia#37541 in 40
Louisiana#36071 in 34
North Carolina#38751 in 42
South Carolina#35591 in 37
Tennessee#37971 in 34
Texas#31,2451 in 46
Florida#43271 in 36
Kentucky#45641 in 48
Maryland#43121 in 37
Virginia#46271 in 37
Colorado#52061 in 38
Connecticut#52501 in 37
Maine#51281 in 49
Montana#5851 in 42
New Jersey#55671 in 42
New York#51,6121 in 51
Rhode Island#51211 in 34
South Dakota#51241 in 42
Massachusetts#66391 in 44
Missouri#66251 in 43
North Dakota#61211 in 47
Pennsylvania#61,6301 in 44
West Virginia#63231 in 57
District of Columbia#7961 in 41
Illinois#71,0581 in 47
Kansas#72401 in 55
Oklahoma#73961 in 57
Wyoming#7371 in 39
Arizona#8581 in 64
Delaware#8411 in 34
New Hampshire#8691 in 43
Ohio#88811 in 51
California#95161 in 66
Iowa#93611 in 50
Nebraska#91981 in 52
Idaho#10581 in 58
New Mexico#10611 in 81
Hawaii#11541 in 55
Indiana#113711 in 60
Minnesota#113411 in 56
Oregon#11801 in 63
Utah#11691 in 64
Michigan#126371 in 57
Vermont#12501 in 48
Washington#121591 in 58
Wisconsin#123931 in 56
Nevada#1371 in 41
Alaska———

Ranks are within each state; “1 in N” is out of the girls born there that year. The SSA only publishes a name in a state when 5 or more babies of one sex got it.

See more about Dorothy
Momentum · girls
Rising
  • 8 spots since 2024 (#429 → #421)
  • 114 spots since 2020 (#535 → #421)
  • 293 spots since 2015 (#714 → #421)
  • Biggest jump: 116 spots in 2013 (#922 → #806)
  • Biggest drop: 177 spots in 2005 (#848 → #1,025)
Rise & fade · girls
44 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1924 at #2 (39,996 births)
  • Births halved by 1935, 11 yrs later
Top of the charts · girls
Top 10 for 36 yrs
  • Top 10: 36 yrs · run 1904–1939
  • Top 100: 72 yrs · run 1890–1961
  • Top 1,000: 141 yrs · run 1880–2004
Share of babies · girls
1 in 31
  • Highest: 1 in 31 girls born in 1923 were named Dorothy (3.2%)
  • Latest: 1 in 2,163 girls born in 2025 (0.05%)
  • Its best rank, #2 in 1924, was only 1 in 31 (3.2%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · girls
The 1920s
  • 33.2% of all girls named Dorothy (368,875) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s2,088#102 (1889)#127
1890s10,846#35 (1899)#60
1900s39,112#5 (1909)#12
1910s207,475#3 (1918)#3
1920s368,875#2 (1924)#2
1930s210,415#3 (1930)#6
1940s132,257#12 (1940)#21
1950s74,475#35 (1950)#62
1960s33,011#95 (1960)#129
1970s11,664#180 (1970)#233
1980s7,143#278 (1980)#341
1990s4,211#426 (1990)#577
2000s2,717#736 (2000)#923
2010s3,958#561 (2019)#750
2020s3,984#421 (2025)#470

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 girls in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Dorothy in 1934

girls
#5
21,281 births · 1 in 49 girls
boys
#549
116 births · 1 in 8,902 boys

Top girls' names in 1934

  1. #1Mary56,929
  2. #2Betty31,089
  3. #3Barbara29,239
  4. #4Shirley22,841
  5. #5Dorothy21,281
  6. #6Patricia20,844
  7. #7Joan19,465
  8. #8Margaret15,144
  9. #9Helen14,100
  10. #10Nancy13,520

Top boys' names in 1934

  1. #1Robert55,843
  2. #2James54,270
  3. #3John46,743
  4. #4William40,175
  5. #5Richard33,167
  6. #6Donald30,408
  7. #7Charles29,790
  8. #8George18,500
  9. #9Thomas17,373
  10. #10Joseph17,111
  11. #549Dorothy116
More about 1934

girls

1,044,225 girls got a published name in 1934; 1 in 49 of them was named Dorothy, which outranked 99.9% of the 4,973 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.4% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Dorothy
  1. #2Betty31,089
  2. #3Barbara29,239
  3. #4Shirley22,841
  4. #5Dorothy21,281
  5. #6Patricia20,844
  6. #7Joan19,465
  7. #8Margaret15,144
Biggest movers since 1933
Risers
  1. ↑ 571Luann#1,442 → #871
  2. ↑ 469Alison#1,442 → #973
  3. ↑ 439Golda#1,364 → #925
  4. ↑ 350Ronald#1,244 → #894
  5. ↑ 346Gale#1,102 → #756
Fallers
  1. ↓ 685Nira#463 → #1,148
  2. ↓ 342Vina#782 → #1,124
  3. ↓ 316Zita#947 → #1,263
  4. ↓ 299Myrtie#834 → #1,133
  5. ↓ 278Theola#985 → #1,263

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,032,596 boys got a published name in 1934; 1 in 8,902 of them was named Dorothy, which outranked 86.9% of the 4,205 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.3% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Dorothy
  1. #545Davis117
  2. #545Elroy117
  3. #545Fletcher117
  4. #549Dorothy116
  5. #549Coleman116
  6. #551Hoyt115
  7. #552Buster114
  8. #552Merlyn114

Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1933
Risers
  1. ↑ 746Lanny#1,361 → #615
  2. ↑ 630Kerry#1,586 → #956
  3. ↑ 620Marland#1,456 → #836
  4. ↑ 404Kirk#1,202 → #798
  5. ↑ 350Valentin#1,281 → #931
Fallers
  1. ↓ 730Neville#995 → #1,725
  2. ↓ 616Garner#770 → #1,386
  3. ↓ 520Vivian#905 → #1,425
  4. ↓ 488Finis#869 → #1,357
  5. ↓ 464Malcom#961 → #1,425

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1934 →