Dorothy

Primarily a girl's name · 100% girls

Meaning

Dorothy is a feminine given name. It is the English vernacular form of the Greek Δωροθέα meaning 'God's gift', from δῶρον 'gift' + θεός 'god'. It has been in use since the 15th century.

From Wikipedia

Dorothy first appears in the data in 1952 and has been recorded in 9 different years as a girl's name. Its single biggest year was 1955 with 96 babies (rank #81 that year). It was not in the 2025 data. The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Dorothy

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Dorothy yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

6Destiny numberThe carerNurturing, responsible, family at the centre.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
1Soul urgeThe leaderIndependent, pioneering, drawn to going first.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
5PersonalityThe free spiritCurious, restless, energised by change.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

464

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Girls

Famous people named Dorothy

Dorothy Hodgkincrystallographer · b. 1910
Dorothy Parkerliterary critic · b. 1893
Dorothy L. SayersFrench–English translator · b. 1893
Dorothy Malonefilm actor · b. 1924
Dorothy Dayfeminist · b. 1897

Share your Dorothy story

Why did you choose this name — or what does it mean to you? Approved stories appear on this page.

More popular girls' names

Other girls' names starting with D

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all girls' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1952	90	#79
1953	94	#83
1954	88	#83
1955	96	#81
1956	82	#86
2014	1	#1,401
2015	4	#359
2016	5	#312
2017	4	#340