Nameling

Dorothea

Gender
Girl
Say it
dor-o-THEE-a
Origin
Greek
UK rank, 2025
#836 for girls
US rank, 2025
#1,777 for girls

Dorothea is a girls' name of Greek origin, meaning “gift of God”. In 2025 it ranked 836th for girls in the UK (46 babies) and 1,777th for girls in the US (113 babies).

What does Dorothea mean?

Greek: from Greek doron, gift, and theos, god

“gift of God”

Dorothea Brooke is the idealistic heroine of George Eliot's novel Middlemarch.

More on Wiktionary.

Is Dorothea a girl's or a boy's name?

Dorothea is a girls' name. In 2025, it was given to 46 girls in the UK and 113 girls in the US. Too few boys were given it to be listed.

How popular is Dorothea in the UK?

Rank in 2025
#836among girls
Babies in 2025
46about 1 in 6,100 girls
Five-year trend
Risingup 31% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 46 girls in the UK were named Dorothea, making it the 836th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 1,147th. Its busiest year was 2024, with 46 girls.

Half of all the girls named Dorothea in the UK since 1996 were born between 2014 and 2023, the years shaded on the chart below.

Among girls in 2025, it was 872nd in England and Wales and 474th in Scotland.

1996Busiest: 46 in 20242025
Dorothea in the UK, year by year
YearGirlsRank
202546#836
202446#856
202334#1,075
202241#920
202140#945
202031#1,147
201936#1,040
201829#1,237
201728#1,284
201619#1,724
201518#1,739
201413#2,189
201317#1,798
201217#1,828
20118#3,041
201012#2,234
200912#2,153
20084#4,742
20076#3,396
20060–
20055#3,543
20047#2,669
20035#3,233
20023#4,284
20013#4,156
20004#3,399
19990–
19984#3,310
19974#3,345
19965#2,815

How popular is Dorothea in the US?

Rank in 2025
#1,777among girls
Babies in 2025
113about 1 in 14,000 girls
Five-year trend
Risingup 60% in five years
Same name in a class
under 1%chance among 15 girls

In 2025, 113 girls in the US were named Dorothea, making it the 1,777th most popular name for girls. Five years earlier, in 2020, it was 2,779th. Its busiest year was 1920, with 1,110 girls.

2025 had more girls named Dorothea than any year since 1970.

Half of all the girls named Dorothea in the US since 1880 were born between 1917 and 1947, the years shaded on the chart below.

1880Busiest: 1,110 in 19202025
Dorothea in the US, year by year
YearGirlsRank
2025113#1,777
202493#2,067
202362#2,757
202263#2,720
202174#2,416
202059#2,779
201948#3,271
201860#2,809
201745#3,435
201644#3,523
201538#3,914
201428#4,890
201326#5,141
201219#6,573
201116#7,432
201021#6,180
200921#6,314
200823#5,952
200715#8,094
200620#6,354
200514#7,886
200422#5,551
200326#4,799
200233#3,885
200118#6,062
200018#5,932
199928#4,084
199824#4,489
199727#4,004
199621#4,734
199522#4,513
199431#3,531
199332#3,417
199233#3,337
199138#2,983
199043#2,690
198951#2,299
198851#2,211
198744#2,358
198645#2,264
198543#2,316
198441#2,339
198352#1,960
198248#2,115
198154#1,958
198049#2,096
197959#1,814
197859#1,746
197761#1,701
197656#1,714
197564#1,561
197471#1,428
197366#1,450
1972102#1,103
1971101#1,148
1970129#974
1969148#854
1968160#791
1967184#723
1966207#675
1965211#678
1964256#640
1963259#627
1962313#554
1961308#570
1960280#592
1959293#575
1958298#568
1957300#551
1956294#545
1955312#521
1954298#514
1953302#499
1952320#470
1951283#485
1950308#462
1949343#426
1948296#466
1947316#463
1946287#459
1945249#452
1944300#418
1943335#398
1942340#387
1941295#401
1940350#343
1939334#353
1938316#366
1937309#368
1936368#322
1935402#307
1934441#293
1933422#295
1932443#300
1931505#278
1930640#243
1929572#268
1928630#257
1927707#245
1926758#233
1925891#215
1924937#209
1923925#209
1922931#207
19211,057#196
19201,110#187
19191,001#191
19181,065#187
19171,076#180
19161,036#179
1915925#182
1914731#182
1913658#176
1912562#174
1911389#181
1910307#212
1909253#223
1908246#217
1907239#211
1906178#242
1905217#206
1904168#240
1903136#263
1902124#280
1901109#285
1900140#274
189994#304
1898114#287
189791#302
189683#319
189576#327
189477#318
189388#286
189265#330
189167#306
189052#354
188956#329
188838#394
188762#268
188635#360
188534#341
188440#304
188330#324
188215#475
188121#360
188016#421

Nicknames for Dorothea

Names like Dorothea

Names given in the same years and the same naming tradition, with a similar sound.

Ophelia Cleo Dottie Theodora Cora Dolly Ada Lottie Florence Matilda Aurelia Etta

Names related to Dorothea

Dorothy Dorota Dorthy

More Greek names

Luca Theodore Sophia George Theo Lucas Sofia Alexander Sebastian Penelope Phoebe Margot Luke Chloe Sophie Zoe

Every Greek name

Sources

Figures from Baby names in England and Wales (Office for National Statistics), Babies' first names (National Records of Scotland), Baby names (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency) and Popular Baby Names (US Social Security Administration). Nameling last updated them on 20 October 2026. How the figures are worked out, and the data to download.

To cite this page: Nameling, “Dorothea: name meaning, origin and popularity”, https://www.nameling.co.uk/names/dorothea, updated 20 October 2026.