Dorcie
A feminine name of uncertain derivation, potentially a variant of Dorothy.
Name Census estimates that about 3 living Americans carry the first name Dorcie. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 80.8% of registrations being female. The average person named Dorcie today is around 98 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorcie births was 1927 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorcie. 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 Dorcie is about 98 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dorcies were born before 1938.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dorcie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
3
~ 1 in 114,251,446 Americans
Peak year
1927
11 babies that year
Average age
98
years old
1927 SSA rank
#3,874
Tracked since 1916
Gender
Gender distribution for Dorcie
Dorcie leans heavily female at 80.8% of total registrations, but 10 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dorcie as a male name
- Ranked #4,352 in 1927
- 5 male births in 1927
- Peak: 1916 (5 births)
Dorcie as a female name
- Ranked #3,874 in 1939
- 6 female births in 1939
- Peak: 1926 (8 births)
Popularity
Dorcie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorcie from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 36 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Dorcie remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorcie 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 Dorcie 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 Dorcie
The name Dorcie has its origins in the Germanic languages, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to be a variant of the name Dorothy, which itself is derived from the Greek names Dorothea and Theodora, meaning "gift of God."
Dorcie was most commonly used in regions of present-day Germany, the Netherlands, and parts of northern France during the medieval period. The earliest recorded instance of the name Dorcie can be found in a 14th-century manuscript from the town of Aachen, where a woman named Dorcie von Aachen is mentioned.
While the name Dorcie does not appear to have been prominently featured in any major religious texts or historical records, it was not uncommon during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance era. One notable figure who bore the name was Dorcie von Lübeck, a 16th-century merchant and philanthropist from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck in northern Germany (born circa 1520, exact dates unknown).
In the 17th century, a woman named Dorcie Jansen (1625-1698) was a well-known painter and engraver in the Dutch Golden Age, known for her portraits and still-life works. Another notable Dorcie was Dorcie Blickling (1678-1741), an English landowner and heiress who inherited the Blickling Hall estate in Norfolk.
Moving into the 18th century, Dorcie Hartmann (1729-1801) was a German-born actress and singer who performed at various theaters across Europe, including the Comédie-Italienne in Paris. In the 19th century, Dorcie von Münchhausen (1815-1872) was a German noblewoman and socialite known for her literary salons in Berlin.
While the name Dorcie has become less common in modern times, it still holds a rich historical significance, particularly in its Germanic and Dutch origins, and has been borne by notable figures throughout various eras of European history.
People
Dorcie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorcie 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
Dorcie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorcie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 3 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorcie 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 114,251,446 US residents.
Is Dorcie a common name?
We classify Dorcie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 4.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 52 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorcie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorcie was 1927, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorcie is about 98 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dorcie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorcie a female name?
Yes, 80.8% of people registered as Dorcie 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 Dorcie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorcie 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 Dorcie 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Dorcie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.