How Many People Are Named Dorthy?
An estimated 5,138 people in the United States have the first name Dorthy. It is almost exclusively a female name. The average bearer is 72 years old, and Dorthy peaked in popularity in 1927 with 700 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Dorthy as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Dorthy paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Dorthy is overwhelmingly female, 79 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 72, Dorthy is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1964.
Estimated Living Americans
5,138
About 1 in 66,710 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Female
99.6% confidence
Average Age
72
years old
Peak Year
1927
700 births
Total Registered
20,408
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Dorthy
Dorthy is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 20,408 total births registered, 99.6% were female.
Dorthy as a male name
Ranked #3,314 in 1943
6 male births in 1943
Peak: 1932 (10 births)
Dorthy as a female name
Ranked #12,472 in 2024
7 female births in 2024
Peak: 1927 (695 births)
Dorthy: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Dorthy span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 5,767 babies were registered. Dorthy has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Dorthy by Decade
How has Dorthy tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Dorthy by State
Birth registrations for Dorthy span all 36 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Mississippi, Arkansas. The lowest are in New Mexico, Idaho, New Jersey. On average, about 465 Dorthys were registered per state.
Dorthy + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorthy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Dorthy
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
Dorthy: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorthy?
We estimate approximately 5,138 people named Dorthy are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 66,710 Americans share this first name.
Is Dorthy a common name?
Dorthy is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 96.6% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 20,408 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Dorthy most popular?
Dorthy reached peak popularity in 1927, when 700 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Dorthy is approximately 72 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Dorthy a female name?
Dorthy is predominantly female. 99.6% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Dorthy Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Dorthy Smith, Dorthy Johnson, Dorthy Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
Search for a full name combination
How Many of Me