Dorothea
A Greek name combining doron, gift, with theos, god, so gift of God. Dorothy is its English form, with the elements reversed in Theodora.
Dorothea in 2025
Dorothea was given to 113 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 3,258th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 29,339 babies born.
The history of Dorothea
Dorothea reached its highest point in 1920, when 1,110 babies were given the name, ranking 328th that year. Its best-ever ranking was 283rd, in 1911.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 34,427 babies have been named Dorothea. Half of them were born before 1926, which places the name's centre of gravity with the Greatest Generation.
Dorothea by decade
| Decade | Babies named Dorothea | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 347 | 461 |
| 1890s | 807 | 436 |
| 1900s | 1,810 | 311 |
| 1910s | 7,750 | 283 |
| 1920s | 8,518 | 328 |
| 1930s | 4,180 | 453 |
| 1940s | 3,111 | 646 |
| 1950s | 3,014 | 841 |
| 1960s | 2,326 | 976 |
| 1970s | 768 | 1,658 |
| 1980s | 478 | 3,073 |
| 1990s | 299 | 4,373 |
| 2000s | 210 | 6,580 |
| 2010s | 345 | 4,950 |
| 2020s | 464 | 3,258 |
Where Dorothea is heading
Dorothea has risen 197% over the past decade, from 38 babies in 2015 to 113 in 2025.
Names like Dorothea
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Dorothea.