Dorothea
Girl name · #1778 in 2025 · Rare
Dorothea is currently the #1778 girl name in the United States — 113 babies received it in 2025. A decade ago it stood at #3915, so the name has been rising over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 15,929 girls born in 2025 was named Dorothea.
The 145-year story
Dorothea first appears in the Social Security records in 1880, when 16 girls received the name. Its peak came in 1920, when 1,110 girls were named Dorothea — good for #187 that year. Today's parents encounter it as a name from their grandparents’ generation, which is precisely the vintage window from which names get revived. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Babies named Dorothea per year. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Dorothea against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Dorothea in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Dorothea is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "rare". A high score means genuine rarity — your Dorothea will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Dorothea is most common
State-level data for Dorothea is too sparse in 2025 to rank by rate — in most states its count falls below the SSA's per-state reporting threshold (counts under 5 are withheld).
Names like Dorothea
Statistically, parents drawn to Dorothea tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Cornelia, Henrietta, Marietta, Dora, and Mildred.
CorneliaHenriettaMariettaDoraMildredElviraMarcellaDolly
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Dorothea | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 113 | #1777 |
| 2024 | 93 | #2067 |
| 2023 | 62 | #2757 |
| 2022 | 63 | #2720 |
| 2021 | 74 | #2416 |
| 2020 | 59 | #2779 |
| 2019 | 48 | #3272 |
| 2018 | 60 | #2810 |
| 2017 | 45 | #3436 |
| 2016 | 44 | #3523 |
| 2015 | 38 | #3915 |
| 2014 | 28 | #4892 |
| 2013 | 26 | #5143 |
| 2012 | 19 | #6576 |
| 2011 | 16 | #7436 |
| 2010 | 21 | #6182 |
| 2009 | 21 | #6317 |
| 2008 | 23 | #5955 |
| 2007 | 15 | #8098 |
| 2006 | 20 | #6356 |
| 2005 | 14 | #7891 |
| 2004 | 22 | #5555 |
| 2003 | 26 | #4804 |
| 2002 | 33 | #3889 |
| 2001 | 18 | #6067 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Dorothea a popular girl name?
Dorothea ranked #1778 among girls in 2025 with 113 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #3915.
When was the name Dorothea most popular?
Dorothea peaked in 1920, when 1,110 American girls received the name (ranked #187 that year). Since 1920 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Dorothea?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 15,929 newborn American girls was named Dorothea. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.