Dorothy - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. do-rot-hy, dor-o-thy ] The girl name Dorothy is pronounced DAORahTHiy or DAORTHiy ^KEY. Dorothy is of Old Greek origin and it is used mainly in English. The meaning of Dorothy is 'gift of god'. Biblical name derived from doron which means 'gift' ; theos which means 'god'. The name was borne by two early Christian saints, notably the 4th-century virgin martyr Saint Dorothea of Caesarea. The names Dorothy and Dorothea were adopted by English speakers in the 16th century, and by the late 19th century, Dorothy has eclipsed the older Latinate form. Its popularity dipped in the 20th century, after it was associated as a slang for a homosexual, in reference to the character Dorothy in the notable film adaptation Wizard of Oz (1939); the film has remained a cult status among gays till today, as has the actress Judy Garland, who portrayed Dorothy in the movie. In literature, the name has been made known by the fictional Dorothea Brooke in George Eliot's novel Middlemarch (1871-1872), while the form Dorrit has been made famous by Charles Dickens' serial novel Little Dorrit (1855-1857). In Scotland, Dorothy is used as an Anglicization of the Gaelic Diorbhail. Dorothy is the feminine version of the English and German Dorotheus.

Dorothy is a widely used name; it has 91 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Darthy, Dode, Dodi, Dody, Doll, Dolley, Dolli, Dollie, Doreatha, Dorena (used in German too), Doretha, Dorethea, Dorette (used in French and German too), Dorinda (used in Spanish too), Dorolice (used in French too), Dorotha, Dorothea (used in Dutch, German, and Scandinavian too), Dorothia, Dortha, Dorthea, Dorthey, Dorthy, Dosi, Dotti, and Theda (used in German and Scandinavian too). Other English forms include the short forms Do, Dora (used in Czech, French, German, Italian, and Spanish too), Doreen, Dot, and Thea (used in German, and Scandinavian too), the pet forms Dee, Dodie, Dodo, Dolly, Doretta, Dori (used in Spanish too), Dorrie, Dorrit, Dorry, Dory, Dottie, Dottsy, and Dotty, and the spelling variant Dorathy.

Forms of Dorothy used in foreign languages include the Russian Dasha, the Romanian Dol, the French Doralice, the German Dorchen, the German Dore, the Scandinavian Dorete, the French Dorée, the Italian Doriana, the Romanian, German, Hungarian, and Italian Dorina, the Czech, Polish, and Russian Dorka, the German Dorle, the German Dorlisa, the Spanish Doro, the Polish Dorosia, the Czech, Polish, and Slavic Dorota, the Hawaiian, Italian, and Spanish Dorotea, the Slavic Doroteja, the Russian Doroteya, the Spanish Doroteyo, the Portuguese Dorotéia, the Dutch Dorothe, the French and German Dorothee, the French Dorothée, the Hungarian Dorothya, the Romanian Dorotthea, the Hungarian Dorottya, the Scandinavian Dorte, the Scandinavian Dorthe, the Russian Dosya, the Hawaiian Koleka, the Hawaiian Kolokea, the Zuni Lolotea, the Finnish Teija, and the Greek and Spanish Theadora. Specific foreign variants include the short forms Dorit (German and Scandinavian), Tea (Finnish, German, Italian, Scandinavian, and Slavic), Tiia (Finnish), and Urte (Lithuanian), and the pet forms Daria (Russian), Darija (Russian), Ditte (Scandinavian), Door (Dutch), Doortje (Dutch), Dorien (Dutch), Dosia (Polish), Dörte (German), and Dörthe (German).

See also the related forms, the Scottish Diorbhail, the English Doris, and the English, German, and Greek Theodora.

Dorothy is rare as a baby girl name. At the peak of its usage in 1923, 3.115% of baby girls were named Dorothy. It was #2 in rank then. The baby name has suffered a marked decline in frequency since then, and is currently of only sporadic use. Out of all girl names in its family, Dorothy was nevertheless the most regularly used in 2008. Dorothy has primarily been a girl name, although in the last century it has also been used for boys. In 1945, 235 times more girls than boys were given the name Dorothy.

Baby names that sound like Dorothy include the French and German Dorothee, the French Dorothée, the English Dorthy, the Scottish Deòiridh, the English Dorethea, the English Doretta, the English Dorita, the Czech, Polish, and Slavic Dorota, the English Dorotha, the Hungarian Dorothya, the Hungarian Dorottya, the English Dorthea, the English Darda, the English Darthy, the Hebrew Deroit, the English Dorathy, the English Doreatha, the Scandinavian Dorete, the English Doretha, and the English, French, and German Dorette.

Details of famous persons named Dorothy:
Activist Dorothy Day, born 8 November 1897 - 29 November 1980, Brooklyn, New York.
Actress Dorothy Lamour, born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton December 10, 1914 - September 22, 1996, New Orleans, Louisiana.
Actress Dorothy Tutin, born 8 April 1930 - 6 August 2001, London, England.
Author Dorothy Parker, born 22 August 1893 - 7 June 1967.
Author Dorothy Sayers, born 13 June 1893 - 17 December 1957, Oxford, England.
Model Dorothy Stratten, born Dorothy Ruth Hoogstraten 28 February 1960 - 14 August 1980, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Playwright Dodie Smith, born Dorothy Gladys Smith 3 May 1896 - 24 November 1990, Lancashire, England.
Singer Dorothy Dandridge, born 9 November 1922 - 8 September 1965, Cleveland, Ohio.

---

Name Popularity Trend + Variant Popularity ChartVariant Popularity Trend + Variant Popularity ChartUnisex Popularity TrendsSound-Like Popularity Trend + Sound-Like Comparison Chart