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#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201937peak #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 1937

  • Rank in state
  • Top 10
  • 11–50
  • 51–100
  • 101–500
  • 501+
  • Not published
Alaska: fewer than 5 girls named Dorothy, so not publishedAKMaine: #19 for girls · 75 births · 1 in 81 girlsMEVermont: #17 for girls · 32 births · 1 in 74 girlsVTNew Hampshire: #18 for girls · 37 births · 1 in 81 girlsNHWashington: #19 for girls · 129 births · 1 in 80 girlsWAIdaho: #11 for girls · 64 births · 1 in 60 girlsIDMontana: #8 for girls · 72 births · 1 in 53 girlsMTNorth Dakota: #17 for girls · 71 births · 1 in 69 girlsNDMinnesota: #17 for girls · 282 births · 1 in 72 girlsMNIllinois: #11 for girls · 789 births · 1 in 66 girlsILWisconsin: #20 for girls · 292 births · 1 in 79 girlsWIMichigan: #16 for girls · 472 births · 1 in 84 girlsMINew York: #7 for girls · 1,236 births · 1 in 68 girlsNYMassachusetts: #8 for girls · 493 births · 1 in 55 girlsMARhode Island: #10 for girls · 77 births · 1 in 54 girlsRIOregon: #14 for girls · 95 births · 1 in 63 girlsORNevada: #19 for girls · 7 births · 1 in 54 girlsNVWyoming: #11 for girls · 27 births · 1 in 54 girlsWYSouth Dakota: #14 for girls · 64 births · 1 in 72 girlsSDIowa: #15 for girls · 269 births · 1 in 68 girlsIAIndiana: #22 for girls · 283 births · 1 in 85 girlsINOhio: #15 for girls · 653 births · 1 in 74 girlsOHPennsylvania: #8 for girls · 1,336 births · 1 in 54 girlsPANew Jersey: #7 for girls · 466 births · 1 in 51 girlsNJConnecticut: #11 for girls · 152 births · 1 in 62 girlsCTCalifornia: #14 for girls · 450 births · 1 in 90 girlsCAUtah: #25 for girls · 45 births · 1 in 101 girlsUTColorado: #9 for girls · 129 births · 1 in 66 girlsCONebraska: #15 for girls · 132 births · 1 in 69 girlsNEMissouri: #7 for girls · 459 births · 1 in 57 girlsMOKentucky: #9 for girls · 397 births · 1 in 66 girlsKYWest Virginia: #15 for girls · 218 births · 1 in 87 girlsWVVirginia: #6 for girls · 436 births · 1 in 53 girlsVAMaryland: #6 for girls · 296 births · 1 in 40 girlsMDDelaware: #6 for girls · 37 births · 1 in 39 girlsDEArizona: #13 for girls · 50 births · 1 in 91 girlsAZNew Mexico: #11 for girls · 65 births · 1 in 83 girlsNMKansas: #13 for girls · 170 births · 1 in 71 girlsKSArkansas: #5 for girls · 374 births · 1 in 47 girlsARTennessee: #5 for girls · 631 births · 1 in 42 girlsTNNorth Carolina: #5 for girls · 744 births · 1 in 49 girlsNCSouth Carolina: #5 for girls · 503 births · 1 in 41 girlsSCDistrict of Columbia: #12 for girls · 84 births · 1 in 57 girlsDCOklahoma: #13 for girls · 239 births · 1 in 82 girlsOKLouisiana: #5 for girls · 527 births · 1 in 41 girlsLAMississippi: #3 for girls · 561 births · 1 in 39 girlsMSAlabama: #6 for girls · 639 births · 1 in 45 girlsALGeorgia: #6 for girls · 651 births · 1 in 47 girlsGAHawaii: #17 for girls · 38 births · 1 in 79 girlsHITexas: #6 for girls · 921 births · 1 in 61 girlsTXFlorida: #5 for girls · 299 births · 1 in 43 girlsFL

Hover or tap a state for its numbers.

Top states · girls
  1. Mississippi#3 · 1 in 39
  2. Louisiana#5 · 1 in 41
  3. South Carolina#5 · 1 in 41
  4. Tennessee#5 · 1 in 42
  5. Florida#5 · 1 in 43

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

Show every state
StateRankBirthsShare
Mississippi#35611 in 39
Arkansas#53741 in 47
Florida#52991 in 43
Louisiana#55271 in 41
North Carolina#57441 in 49
South Carolina#55031 in 41
Tennessee#56311 in 42
Alabama#66391 in 45
Delaware#6371 in 39
Georgia#66511 in 47
Maryland#62961 in 40
Texas#69211 in 61
Virginia#64361 in 53
Missouri#74591 in 57
New Jersey#74661 in 51
New York#71,2361 in 68
Massachusetts#84931 in 55
Montana#8721 in 53
Pennsylvania#81,3361 in 54
Colorado#91291 in 66
Kentucky#93971 in 66
Rhode Island#10771 in 54
Connecticut#111521 in 62
Idaho#11641 in 60
Illinois#117891 in 66
New Mexico#11651 in 83
Wyoming#11271 in 54
District of Columbia#12841 in 57
Arizona#13501 in 91
Kansas#131701 in 71
Oklahoma#132391 in 82
California#144501 in 90
Oregon#14951 in 63
South Dakota#14641 in 72
Iowa#152691 in 68
Nebraska#151321 in 69
Ohio#156531 in 74
West Virginia#152181 in 87
Michigan#164721 in 84
Hawaii#17381 in 79
Minnesota#172821 in 72
North Dakota#17711 in 69
Vermont#17321 in 74
New Hampshire#18371 in 81
Maine#19751 in 81
Nevada#1971 in 54
Washington#191291 in 80
Wisconsin#202921 in 79
Indiana#222831 in 85
Utah#25451 in 101
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 1937

girls
#8
16,572 births · 1 in 64 girls
boys
#700
73 births · 1 in 14,612 boys

Top girls' names in 1937

  1. #1Mary55,641
  2. #2Barbara34,917
  3. #3Patricia26,838
  4. #4Shirley26,823
  5. #5Betty25,337
  6. #6Carol17,336
  7. #7Nancy17,074
  8. #8Dorothy16,572
  9. #9Joan15,301
  10. #10Margaret15,144

Top boys' names in 1937

  1. #1Robert61,842
  2. #2James56,561
  3. #3John48,755
  4. #4William40,725
  5. #5Richard32,975
  6. #6Charles30,520
  7. #7Donald27,868
  8. #8David20,981
  9. #9Thomas19,772
  10. #10George18,439
  11. #700Dorothy73
More about 1937

girls

1,064,033 girls got a published name in 1937; 1 in 64 of them was named Dorothy, which outranked 99.8% of the 4,930 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.6% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Dorothy
  1. #5Betty25,337
  2. #6Carol17,336
  3. #7Nancy17,074
  4. #8Dorothy16,572
  5. #9Joan15,301
  6. #10Margaret15,144
  7. #11Joyce11,808
Biggest movers since 1936
Risers
  1. ↑ 3,217Noreta#4,181 → #964
  2. ↑ 2,845Noretta#3,701 → #856
  3. ↑ 2,351Leilani#3,103 → #752
  4. ↑ 1,407Deann#2,263 → #856
  5. ↑ 1,209Norita#1,741 → #532
Fallers
  1. ↓ 438Dorla#951 → #1,389
  2. ↓ 331Vilma#951 → #1,282
  3. ↓ 303Imelda#979 → #1,282
  4. ↓ 297Lulu#695 → #992
  5. ↓ 292Lyda#840 → #1,132

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

boys

1,066,659 boys got a published name in 1937; 1 in 14,612 of them was named Dorothy, which outranked 82.6% of the 4,020 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 33.6% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Dorothy
  1. #697Alejandro74
  2. #697Buck74
  3. #697Stan74
  4. #700Dorothy73
  5. #700Cary73
  6. #700Ezra73
  7. #700Jefferson73
  8. #706Bryant72
  9. #706Franklyn72
  10. #706Justin72

Tied with 5 names at #700; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1936
Risers
  1. ↑ 1,923Tyrone#2,629 → #706
  2. ↑ 558Lamont#1,540 → #982
  3. ↑ 540Lary#1,540 → #1,000
  4. ↑ 416Errol#906 → #490
  5. ↑ 399Levon#1,356 → #957
Fallers
  1. ↓ 492Gaston#989 → #1,481
  2. ↓ 461Gorden#827 → #1,288
  3. ↓ 432Sergio#940 → #1,372
  4. ↓ 371Landon#422 → #793
  5. ↓ 347Harlen#747 → #1,094

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

See the top 100 for 1937 →