Dodie
A diminutive form of Dorothy, meaning "gift of God" from Greek.
Name Census estimates that about 1,016 living Americans carry the first name Dodie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dodie today is around 59 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dodie births was 1971 (89 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dodie. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.0K
~ 1 in 337,357 Americans
Peak year
1971
89 babies that year
Average age
59
years old
1987 SSA rank
#11,805
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Dodie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dodie from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 464 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dodie by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dodie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dodies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 10 states and territories. Texas, California, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Dodie, while Indiana, Illinois, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 28 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dodie
Dodie is a diminutive form of the name Dorothy, which has its origins in the Greek language. Dorothy is derived from the combination of the Greek words "doron" meaning gift and "theos" meaning God, essentially translating to "gift of God." The name Dodie emerged as a shortened version of Dorothy, likely during the Middle Ages in England.
The name Dorothy was initially brought to England by French Normans after the Norman Conquest in 1066. It gained widespread popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly among the upper classes of English society. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dorothy can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Duarda."
In the 14th century, the English writer Geoffrey Chaucer included a character named Dorigen in his Canterbury Tales, which is believed to be a variation of the name Dorothy. This literary reference contributed to the name's enduring popularity in England.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dodie. One of the earliest was Dodie Smith (1896-1990), a British novelist and playwright best known for her novel "The Hundred and One Dalmatians," which was later adapted into a beloved Disney film.
Another prominent figure was Dodie Kazanjian (1915-2002), an American art collector and philanthropist who donated a significant portion of her collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
In the 20th century, Dodie Rosekrans (1936-1998) was an American lawyer and activist who played a pivotal role in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights and the decriminalization of homosexuality in San Francisco.
More recently, Dodie Clark (born 1995) is a British singer-songwriter and YouTuber who has gained a significant following for her original music and candid discussions about mental health and LGBTQ+ issues.
Another notable figure is Dodie Bellamy (born 1951), an American author and feminist writer known for her experimental and transgressive works exploring themes of sexuality and gender.
While the name Dodie may have originated as a diminutive form, it has evolved into a distinct and enduring name in its own right, with a rich history spanning centuries and crossing various cultural and artistic spheres.
People
Dodie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dodie as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dodie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dodie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,016 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dodie going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 337,357 US residents.
Is Dodie a common name?
We classify Dodie as "Rare". It ranks above 90.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,258 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dodie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dodie was 1971, when 89 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dodie is about 59 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dodie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dodie in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.