Dorothy vs Dorthea
American parents have registered 1,115,908 Dorothys since 1880, against 2,437 Dortheas. Dorothy is still ahead, with 743 babies in 2025.
Babies given each name, 1880–2025
Dorothy Dorthea
Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.
Who was ahead
Dorothy has been the commoner name in every year either was published, 1880 to 2025. The lead has never changed hands.
The closest they came was 1884, when Dorothy had 163 and Dorthea had 11.
Side by side
| Dorothy | Dorthea | |
|---|---|---|
| Total US births | 1,115,908 | 2,437 |
| Most in one year | 40,097 | 69 |
| Babies in 2025 | 743 | 7 |
| Estimated living today | 253,000 | 1,200 |
| Median age today | 76 | 61 |
| Peak year | 1924 | 1921 |
| Best rank | 2nd girls | 890th girls |
| Rank in 2025 | 421st | 11,932nd |
| First recorded | 1880 | 1882 |
| Girls / boys | 1,112,231 / 3,677 | 2,437 / 0 |
A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.
Which name is older
Half of the Dorothys alive today are over 76; half the Dortheas are over 61. That is 15 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.
Where each one is strongest
- Dorothy Mississippi (1.9×), Pennsylvania (1.6×), South Dakota (1.5×)
- Dorthea Oklahoma (5.8×), Missouri (4.3×), Ohio (3.5×)
How much commoner the name is in that state than it is nationally, from births recorded since 1910.
Compare something else
Related comparisons
Social Security Administration birth records, 1880–2025, public domain. Full histories: Dorothy and Dorthea.