Popularity of the name Dorothy, 1880–2025
Dorothy was at its most popular in 1923, when 39,043 girls were given the name: about 1 in 31 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #2. In 2025, 743 girls were named Dorothy, ranking #421. In all, Social Security counts 1,112,231 girls named Dorothy since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 3,677 boys named Dorothy.
- Peak year
- 1923
- Rank in 1923
- #2
- Babies in 1923
- 39,043
- Rank in 2025
- #421
- Total since 1880
- 1,112,231
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name climbed from #714 in 2015 to #421 in 2025: 398 girls got it in 2015, and 743 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1920s, when 368,875 girls were named Dorothy, #2 for the decade. It ranked #127 in the 1880s and #466 in the 2020s so far.
Every 20 years in the records: 112 in 1880 (#139), 2,491 in 1900 (#27), 36,643 in 1920 (#2), 14,875 in 1940 (#12), 5,076 in 1960 (#95), 896 in 1980 (#278), 314 in 2000 (#736) and 565 in 2020 (#535).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 39,996, in 1924. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 1924 than for 1923, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #2, first reached in 1920.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Dorothy, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 112 | #139 |
| 1881 | 109 | #144 |
| 1882 | 115 | #150 |
| 1883 | 141 | #137 |
| 1884 | 163 | #137 |
| 1885 | 196 | #128 |
| 1886 | 230 | #122 |
| 1887 | 272 | #111 |
| 1888 | 373 | #103 |
| 1889 | 377 | #102 |
| 1890 | 458 | #93 |
| 1891 | 566 | #76 |
| 1892 | 626 | #79 |
| 1893 | 821 | #68 |
| 1894 | 1,052 | #58 |
| 1895 | 1,127 | #57 |
| 1896 | 1,366 | #46 |
| 1897 | 1,472 | #43 |
| 1898 | 1,671 | #43 |
| 1899 | 1,687 | #35 |
| 1900 | 2,491 | #27 |
| 1901 | 2,173 | #22 |
| 1902 | 2,707 | #15 |
| 1903 | 3,078 | #11 |
| 1904 | 3,477 | #10 |
| 1905 | 3,937 | #7 |
| 1906 | 4,326 | #6 |
| 1907 | 4,967 | #6 |
| 1908 | 5,703 | #6 |
| 1909 | 6,253 | #5 |
| 1910 | 7,318 | #4 |
| 1911 | 8,869 | #4 |
| 1912 | 12,645 | #3 |
| 1913 | 14,674 | #3 |
| 1914 | 18,782 | #3 |
| 1915 | 25,154 | #3 |
| 1916 | 27,418 | #3 |
| 1917 | 28,852 | #3 |
| 1918 | 32,030 | #3 |
| 1919 | 31,733 | #3 |
| 1920 | 36,643 | #2 |
| 1921 | 39,087 | #2 |
| 1922 | 37,716 | #2 |
| 1923 | 39,043 | #2 |
| 1924 | 39,996 | #2 |
| 1925 | 38,570 | #2 |
| 1926 | 36,618 | #2 |
| 1927 | 35,993 | #2 |
| 1928 | 33,733 | #3 |
| 1929 | 31,476 | #3 |
| 1930 | 30,411 | #3 |
| 1931 | 26,524 | #3 |
| 1932 | 24,974 | #4 |
| 1933 | 22,054 | #4 |
| 1934 | 21,281 | #5 |
| 1935 | 19,406 | #6 |
| 1936 | 17,666 | #6 |
| 1937 | 16,572 | #8 |
| 1938 | 16,358 | #8 |
| 1939 | 15,169 | #9 |
| 1940 | 14,875 | #12 |
| 1941 | 14,566 | #14 |
| 1942 | 15,037 | #17 |
| 1943 | 14,793 | #19 |
| 1944 | 13,379 | #19 |
| 1945 | 12,323 | #21 |
| 1946 | 12,797 | #23 |
| 1947 | 12,753 | #26 |
| 1948 | 11,324 | #29 |
| 1949 | 10,410 | #32 |
| 1950 | 9,551 | #35 |
| 1951 | 9,089 | #42 |
| 1952 | 8,609 | #46 |
| 1953 | 8,162 | #49 |
| 1954 | 7,789 | #55 |
| 1955 | 7,242 | #64 |
| 1956 | 6,858 | #72 |
| 1957 | 6,405 | #74 |
| 1958 | 5,539 | #86 |
| 1959 | 5,231 | #94 |
| 1960 | 5,076 | #95 |
| 1961 | 4,732 | #99 |
| 1962 | 4,073 | #111 |
| 1963 | 3,796 | #116 |
| 1964 | 3,533 | #118 |
| 1965 | 2,961 | #130 |
| 1966 | 2,664 | #136 |
| 1967 | 2,314 | #148 |
| 1968 | 2,086 | #157 |
| 1969 | 1,776 | #181 |
| 1970 | 1,799 | #180 |
| 1971 | 1,624 | #191 |
| 1972 | 1,273 | #218 |
| 1973 | 1,175 | #215 |
| 1974 | 1,098 | #232 |
| 1975 | 976 | #250 |
| 1976 | 982 | #240 |
| 1977 | 933 | #269 |
| 1978 | 914 | #260 |
| 1979 | 890 | #272 |
| 1980 | 896 | #278 |
| 1981 | 788 | #307 |
| 1982 | 829 | #298 |
| 1983 | 759 | #305 |
| 1984 | 681 | #340 |
| 1985 | 719 | #332 |
| 1986 | 629 | #373 |
| 1987 | 614 | #381 |
| 1988 | 608 | #396 |
| 1989 | 620 | #398 |
| 1990 | 596 | #426 |
| 1991 | 497 | #486 |
| 1992 | 509 | #486 |
| 1993 | 476 | #515 |
| 1994 | 443 | #549 |
| 1995 | 377 | #597 |
| 1996 | 350 | #640 |
| 1997 | 316 | #682 |
| 1998 | 312 | #710 |
| 1999 | 335 | #678 |
| 2000 | 314 | #736 |
| 2001 | 319 | #750 |
| 2002 | 264 | #867 |
| 2003 | 292 | #835 |
| 2004 | 290 | #848 |
| 2005 | 237 | #1,025 |
| 2006 | 267 | #976 |
| 2007 | 263 | #1,003 |
| 2008 | 244 | #1,070 |
| 2009 | 227 | #1,116 |
| 2010 | 243 | #1,027 |
| 2011 | 279 | #927 |
| 2012 | 279 | #922 |
| 2013 | 335 | #806 |
| 2014 | 385 | #727 |
| 2015 | 398 | #714 |
| 2016 | 456 | #644 |
| 2017 | 507 | #590 |
| 2018 | 530 | #580 |
| 2019 | 546 | #561 |
| 2020 | 565 | #535 |
| 2021 | 649 | #483 |
| 2022 | 645 | #486 |
| 2023 | 664 | #463 |
| 2024 | 718 | #429 |
| 2025 | 743 | #421 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.