Dolora
Derived from Latin, meaning "sorrowful" or "painful".
Name Census estimates that about 13 living Americans carry the first name Dolora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dolora today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dolora births was 1917 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dolora. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Dolora is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Doloras were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dolora. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
13
~ 1 in 26,365,718 Americans
Peak year
1917
13 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1962 SSA rank
#6,044
Tracked since 1916
Census
Dolora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 177 people with the first name Dolora, which placed it at #41,393 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#41,393
National first-name rank
People counted
177
177 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dolora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dolora is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.8%) and Black (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dolora described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dolora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.8% · 97
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.8% · 58
- Black or African American4.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 4
- Two or more races1.7% · 3
Popularity
Dolora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dolora from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 40 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dolora 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 Dolora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dolora
Dolora is a female given name with origins in the Latin language. The name is derived from the Latin word "dolor," meaning "pain" or "sorrow." It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, likely as a symbolic name associated with religious or spiritual concepts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dolora can be found in medieval religious texts, where it was sometimes used as a symbolic name for the Virgin Mary, representing her sorrow and pain during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. In some contexts, the name was also associated with the concept of spiritual suffering or martyrdom.
While not a common name historically, there are a few notable individuals who bore the name Dolora throughout the centuries. One such person was Dolora Zajick, an American opera singer born in 1952, known for her performances in various operatic roles, including Amneris in Aida and Azucena in Il Trovatore.
Another historical figure with the name Dolora was Dolora Chaplin, an American actress and dancer born in 1881. She was the daughter of the famous comedian Charlie Chaplin and appeared in several films during the early 20th century, including the 1921 silent film "The Kid."
In the literary realm, Dolora Marr was the pen name of Dolorita Nötzli, a Swiss author and poet born in 1888. She published several collections of poetry and prose works during her lifetime, exploring themes of nature, love, and spirituality.
Additionally, Dolora Zepeda was a Mexican-American author and educator born in 1933. She wrote several books and articles focused on Chicano literature and culture, and her work helped to promote and preserve the heritage of the Mexican-American community.
While not a widely popular name, Dolora has a rich history and symbolic significance, particularly in religious and literary contexts. Its connection to the concepts of pain, sorrow, and spiritual struggle has imbued the name with a sense of depth and meaning throughout the ages.
People
Dolora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dolora 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
Dolora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dolora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 13 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dolora 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 26,365,718 US residents.
Is Dolora a common name?
We classify Dolora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 33.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dolora most popular?
The single biggest year for Dolora was 1917, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dolora is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dolora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 177 people with the name Dolora, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #41,393 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dolora in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dolora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dolora leans strongly female. 178 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dolora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dolora is White at 54.8%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (32.8%) and Black (4.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dolora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dolora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.8% (97 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dolora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dolora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dolora 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.
Is Dolora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dolora in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dolora can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Dolora?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Dolora on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.