Dorthy
Dorthy was given to 8 girls in 2025, #11,187 among girls’ names; 20,417 Americans have been recorded with it since 1885 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,020 Americans named Dorthy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (30% of everyone recorded); the median is 77 years old and half are between 66 and 85.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Dorthy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
How popular is Dorthy?
#11,187 among girls’ names, 2025
Dorthy rose from #15,002 in 2015 to #11,187 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 3.4 to 5.0 per million.
700 babies in 1927, the peak
Dorthy peaked in 1927, when 700 babies were given it (695 girls, #248 among girls’ names). The 8 births of 2025 are 1% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | #11,187 | under 0.01 |
| 2024 | 7 | #12,512 | under 0.01 |
| 2023 | 12 | #8,613 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 8 | #11,479 | under 0.01 |
| 2020 | 12 | #8,534 | 0.01 |
| 2019 | 9 | #10,701 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 9 | #10,792 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #13,089 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 5 | #16,953 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 6 | #15,002 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (135)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 10 | #10,351 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 5 | #17,270 | under 0.01 |
| 2012 | 6 | #15,484 | under 0.01 |
| 2011 | 7 | #13,752 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 8 | #12,608 | under 0.01 |
| 2009 | 7 | #14,107 | under 0.01 |
| 2008 | 6 | #15,952 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 6 | #16,058 | under 0.01 |
| 2006 | 11 | #10,092 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 6 | #15,015 | under 0.01 |
| 2004 | 7 | #13,136 | under 0.01 |
| 2003 | 8 | #11,600 | under 0.01 |
| 2002 | 6 | #14,091 | under 0.01 |
| 2001 | 10 | #9,575 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 11 | #8,729 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 10 | #8,971 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 16 | #6,141 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 11 | #7,912 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 12 | #7,267 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 13 | #6,752 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 16 | #5,789 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 10 | #8,233 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 14 | #6,395 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 13 | #6,699 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 14 | #6,221 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 18 | #4,913 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 26 | #3,612 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 9 | #7,533 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 20 | #4,067 | 0.01 |
| 1985 | 24 | #3,543 | 0.01 |
| 1984 | 16 | #4,536 | 0.01 |
| 1983 | 18 | #4,157 | 0.01 |
| 1982 | 28 | #3,107 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 20 | #3,895 | 0.01 |
| 1980 | 33 | #2,761 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 24 | #3,367 | 0.01 |
| 1978 | 25 | #3,127 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 27 | #2,930 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 24 | #3,029 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 35 | #2,327 | 0.02 |
| 1974 | 30 | #2,515 | 0.02 |
| 1973 | 38 | #2,098 | 0.03 |
| 1972 | 47 | #1,811 | 0.03 |
| 1971 | 48 | #1,833 | 0.03 |
| 1970 | 45 | #1,912 | 0.03 |
| 1969 | 48 | #1,760 | 0.03 |
| 1968 | 47 | #1,716 | 0.03 |
| 1967 | 57 | #1,483 | 0.03 |
| 1966 | 58 | #1,450 | 0.03 |
| 1965 | 84 | #1,169 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 68 | #1,363 | 0.04 |
| 1963 | 94 | #1,128 | 0.05 |
| 1962 | 86 | #1,185 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 133 | #930 | 0.07 |
| 1960 | 120 | #976 | 0.06 |
| 1959 | 132 | #908 | 0.07 |
| 1958 | 161 | #789 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 155 | #812 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 177 | #726 | 0.09 |
| 1955 | 187 | #684 | 0.10 |
| 1954 | 194 | #663 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 188 | #658 | 0.10 |
| 1952 | 187 | #652 | 0.10 |
| 1951 | 216 | #582 | 0.12 |
| 1950 | 231 | #541 | 0.13 |
| 1949 | 271 | #486 | 0.16 |
| 1948 | 272 | #491 | 0.16 |
| 1947 | 309 | #465 | 0.17 |
| 1946 | 307 | #440 | 0.20 |
| 1945 | 301 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1944 | 379 | #357 | 0.29 |
| 1943 | 351 | #390 | 0.25 |
| 1942 | 390 | #352 | 0.29 |
| 1941 | 365 | #345 | 0.30 |
| 1940 | 400 | #318 | 0.35 |
| 1939 | 401 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1938 | 422 | #305 | 0.38 |
| 1937 | 465 | #285 | 0.44 |
| 1936 | 438 | #294 | 0.42 |
| 1935 | 532 | #265 | 0.51 |
| 1934 | 577 | #261 | 0.55 |
| 1933 | 554 | #259 | 0.55 |
| 1932 | 576 | #261 | 0.54 |
| 1931 | 529 | #270 | 0.50 |
| 1930 | 684 | #234 | 0.61 |
| 1929 | 617 | #255 | 0.55 |
| 1928 | 641 | #251 | 0.56 |
| 1927 | 695 | #248 | 0.58 |
| 1926 | 649 | #261 | 0.55 |
| 1925 | 580 | #276 | 0.48 |
| 1924 | 608 | #265 | 0.49 |
| 1923 | 517 | #285 | 0.43 |
| 1922 | 513 | #288 | 0.43 |
| 1921 | 491 | #297 | 0.40 |
| 1920 | 437 | #313 | 0.36 |
| 1919 | 382 | #324 | 0.34 |
| 1918 | 412 | #315 | 0.36 |
| 1917 | 322 | #350 | 0.30 |
| 1916 | 278 | #371 | 0.27 |
| 1915 | 228 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1914 | 143 | #458 | 0.19 |
| 1913 | 126 | #439 | 0.20 |
| 1912 | 110 | #452 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 57 | #568 | 0.14 |
| 1910 | 67 | #495 | 0.17 |
| 1909 | 73 | #433 | 0.21 |
| 1908 | 47 | #538 | 0.14 |
| 1907 | 39 | #592 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 33 | #625 | 0.11 |
| 1905 | 28 | #669 | 0.10 |
| 1904 | 29 | #644 | 0.11 |
| 1903 | 32 | #580 | 0.12 |
| 1902 | 21 | #761 | 0.08 |
| 1901 | 21 | #705 | 0.09 |
| 1900 | 24 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1899 | 15 | #850 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 14 | #930 | 0.05 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,618 | 0.02 |
| 1896 | 7 | #1,323 | 0.03 |
| 1895 | 11 | #1,004 | 0.05 |
| 1894 | 13 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,123 | 0.04 |
| 1888 | 7 | #1,062 | 0.04 |
| 1887 | 6 | #1,064 | 0.04 |
| 1885 | 6 | #953 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Dorthy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Dorthy has been given almost only to girls: 79 boys in 135 years of records.
Girls and boys named Dorthy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Dorthy, and how old are they?
6,020 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 30% of the 20,417 Americans ever recorded as Dorthy. The median Dorthy alive today is 77 years old; half are between 66 and 85.
The 2020 Census counted 8,404 people named Dorthy (8,374 women and girls, 30 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,193 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3% above that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,240 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,600 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 617 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 263 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 134 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 97 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Dorthy born?
The states with the most babies named Dorthy are Texas, Mississippi and Arkansas, with 31% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Mississippi and Arkansas are not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,045 | not ranked | 1.8× |
| Mississippi | 1,664 | not ranked | 4.0× |
| Arkansas | 1,449 | not ranked | 4.1× |
| Tennessee | 1,409 | not ranked | 2.7× |
| Kentucky | 1,146 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Alabama | 1,046 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Oklahoma | 844 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| North Carolina | 826 | not ranked | 1.2× |
| Georgia | 818 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Missouri | 677 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Dorthy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Dorthy is most over-represented in Arkansas: since 1910 it was given 4.1 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Dorthy with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 1,162,410 babies since 1880, Dorthy is the second most given (1.8% of them). In 2025 it was given to 8 of their 758 babies (1.1%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Dorthy
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Dorthy and names like it
- Compare Dorthy and DorothyBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sDorthy peaked in 1927.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Dorthy since 1910.
- The top names of 1927The year the most babies were named Dorthy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Dorthy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with DMost given first.