Girls' name · since 1882
Dorthea
2,437 babies named Dorthea in U.S. Social Security records since 1882, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #4,117 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,958 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,437
- born since 1882
- 1920s
- peak decade
2,437 babies have been named Dorthea since 1882, making it today's #11958 girls' name.
Dorthea has 2,437 recorded births among girls since 1882, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #11958 as of the latest data, more common than 31% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1882 to 2025.
- #4,117 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #11,958 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 2,437 born since 1882
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dorthea ranks #4,117 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #11,958 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 2,437 born since 1882, peaking in the 1920s.
- #4,117 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #11,958 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 2,437
- born since 1882
- 1920s
- peak decade
Dorthea's 2,437 recorded births place it above 94.3% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
11 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Pennsylvania.
How Dorthea compares
2,437 Top 20% higher than 80% 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
Dorthea's all-time total is 6x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dorthea | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 2,437 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 69 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dorthea's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Splitting Dorthea's full recorded timeline at 1954, 42% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 58% in the earlier half -- a fairly even split across the full record. Its quietest year on record was 1882, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1921 peak of 69 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.
Dorthea popularity over time
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1882–2025
- Peak year (1921)
- 69
- Annual births at peak, across 144 years of records
Dorthea by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (485 births, 20% of the file).
1920s was Dorthea's strongest decade.
485 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 20% of all-time use.
Dorthea births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 16
1880s
16 births
- 1890s 16
1890s
16 births
- 1900s 48
1900s
48 births
- 1910s
1910s
286 births
- 1920s
1920s
485 births
- 1930s
1930s
262 births
- 1940s 184
1940s
184 births
- 1950s
1950s
350 births
- 1960s
1960s
329 births
- 1970s 179
1970s
179 births
- 1980s 140
1980s
140 births
- 1990s 90
1990s
90 births
- 2000s 30
2000s
30 births
- 2010s 5
2010s
5 births
- 2020s 17
2020s
17 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 485 births (20% of all-time use).
How Dorthea 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 Dorthea's total volume
Dorthea by state
Where Dorthea concentrates geographically, total births since 1882
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Pennsylvania | | 49 | 2.0% |
| #2 | Ohio | | 46 | 1.9% |
| #3 | Texas | | 39 | 1.6% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 31 | 1.3% |
| #5 | Missouri | | 27 | 1.1% |
| #6 | California | | 24 | 1.0% |
| #7 | Oklahoma | | 22 | 0.9% |
| #8 | Indiana | | 17 | 0.7% |
49 of 2,437 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 11 reporting states.
Dorthea appears in 11 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Dorthea? ▼
Where does Dorthea sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Dorthea most popular? ▼
Where is Dorthea most popular? ▼
How long has the name Dorthea been used? ▼
What names are similar to Dorthea? ▼
What to do with Dorthea's data
- Dorthea's decade-level peak was the 1920s (485 total births); usage has since declined to 17 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Pennsylvania records the most Dortheas (49 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 Dorthea
Nearby Names Like Dorthea
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dorthea
Compare Dorthea side by side: Dorthea vs Dorothy Dorthea vs Doris Dorthea vs Dora
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dorthea
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dorthea: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1921)
Similar record span (~143 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, 1882–2025 (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 Dorthea 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.