Girls' name · since 1880
Dorothy
1,112,231 babies named Dorothy in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1924. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #9 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #421 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,112,231
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Yes -- Dorothy is the #421 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 1,112,231 recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Dorothy recorded 1,112,231 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #421 nationally today, ahead of 98% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #9 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #421 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 1,112,231 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dorothy ranks #9 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #421 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 1,112,231 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #9 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #421 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 1,112,231
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Dorothy's 1,112,231 recorded births place it above 99.98% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Dorothy compares
1,112,231 Top 1% higher than 99% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Dorothy's all-time total is 2,958x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dorothy | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 1,112,231 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 39,996 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dorothy's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Dorothy's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 10% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 90%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 1881, with only 109 births recorded -- set against the 1924 peak of 39,996, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Dorothy popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1924)
- 39,996
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Dorothy popularity over time - boys
3,677 total births recorded since 1894 (Dorothy as boys' name)
Dorothy by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (368,875 births, 33% of the file).
1920s was Dorothy's strongest decade.
368,875 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 33% of all-time use.
Dorothy births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 2,088
1880s
2,088 births
- 1890s 10,846
1890s
10,846 births
- 1900s 39,112
1900s
39,112 births
- 1910s
1910s
207,475 births
- 1920s
1920s
368,875 births
- 1930s
1930s
210,415 births
- 1940s 132,257
1940s
132,257 births
- 1950s 74,475
1950s
74,475 births
- 1960s 33,011
1960s
33,011 births
- 1970s 11,664
1970s
11,664 births
- 1980s 7,143
1980s
7,143 births
- 1990s 4,211
1990s
4,211 births
- 2000s 2,717
2000s
2,717 births
- 2010s 3,958
2010s
3,958 births
- 2020s 3,984
2020s
3,984 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 368,875 births (33% of all-time use).
How Dorothy compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Dorothy's total volume
Dorothy by state
Where Dorothy concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 93,705 | 8.4% |
| #2 | New York | | 89,999 | 8.1% |
| #3 | Illinois | | 60,804 | 5.5% |
| #4 | Texas | | 52,986 | 4.8% |
| #5 | Ohio | | 52,207 | 4.7% |
| #6 | Michigan | | 37,371 | 3.4% |
| #7 | Massachusetts | | 34,974 | 3.1% |
| #8 | California | | 34,522 | 3.1% |
93,705 of 1,112,231 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Dorothy appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Dorothy? ▼
Where does Dorothy sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Dorothy most popular? ▼
Where is Dorothy most popular? ▼
How long has the name Dorothy been used? ▼
What names are similar to Dorothy? ▼
What to do with Dorothy's data
- Dorothy's decade-level peak was the 1920s (368,875 total births); usage has since declined to 3,984 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Dorothys (93,705 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Pennsylvania names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dorothy
Nearby Names Like Dorothy
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dorothy
Compare Dorothy side by side: Dorothy vs Doris Dorothy vs Dora Dorothy vs Doreen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dorothy
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dorothy: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1924)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Dorothy draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.