Dore
Gift from God, a name of French origin.
Name Census estimates that about 172 living Americans carry the first name Dore. It is a predominantly female name (90.8% of registrations). The average person named Dore today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dore births was 1958 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dore. 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
172
~ 1 in 1,992,758 Americans
Peak year
1958
15 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,390
Tracked since 1929
Census
Dore in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 381 people with the first name Dore, which placed it at #25,037 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
#25,037
National first-name rank
People counted
381
381 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
69.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dore
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dore is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.4%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Dore 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 Dore at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.6% · 265
- Hispanic or Latino14.4% · 55
- Black or African American8.7% · 33
- Two or more races3.4% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 5
Gender
Gender distribution for Dore
Dore leans heavily female at 90.8% of total registrations, but 20 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dore as a male name
- Ranked #9,390 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1950 (5 births)
Dore as a female name
- Ranked #11,429 in 1986
- 5 female births in 1986
- Peak: 1957 (12 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dore on both sides of the split. Of the 384 people counted with this name, 98 were male (25.5%) and 286 were female (74.5%).
Popularity
Dore: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dore from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 74 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dore 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 Dore during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dores live
Origin
Meaning and history of Dore
The name Dore is believed to have originated from the Old French language, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages. It is thought to be a variation of the name Doree, which means "golden" or "gilded" in French. This name was likely given to children with golden or blonde hair, or perhaps as a reference to their perceived value or precious nature.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dore can be found in the 12th-century epic poem "The Song of Roland," where a character named Dore is mentioned. This suggests that the name was in use during the medieval period, at least among the French-speaking populations of Europe.
In the 15th century, a French painter and engraver named Dore was born, though his full name is not widely recorded. His works, which included illustrations for famous literary works such as the Bible and Dante's "Divine Comedy," were renowned for their intricate detail and imaginative interpretations.
Moving forward in history, we find Dore Hoey (1905-1967), an American actress and dancer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films during the 1930s and 1940s. Her most notable role was in the 1941 film "The Maltese Falcon," where she played the character of Miss Wonderly.
Another prominent figure with the name Dore was Dore Schary (1905-1980), an American film producer, writer, and executive. He served as the president of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) from 1951 to 1956 and was responsible for overseeing the production of several acclaimed films during his tenure, including "Viva Zapata!" and "Julius Caesar."
In the world of literature, Dore Ashton (1928-2017) was an American art critic and historian who wrote extensively on modern and contemporary art. Her books, such as "The Unknown Shore" and "About Rothko," were highly regarded in the art community and helped shape the understanding and appreciation of various artistic movements.
While the name Dore may not be as common today as it once was, its rich history and cultural significance make it a unique and intriguing choice for those seeking a name with a strong connection to the past.
People
Dore + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dore 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
Dore: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dore?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 172 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dore 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 1,992,758 US residents.
Is Dore a common name?
We classify Dore as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 218 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dore most popular?
The single biggest year for Dore was 1958, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dore is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dore in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 381 people with the name Dore, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,037 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 Dore 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 Dore?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dore on both sides of the split. Of the 384 people counted with this name, 98 were male (25.5%) and 286 were female (74.5%). 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 Dore?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dore is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.4%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Dore most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dore in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (265 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 Dore in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dore a female name?
Yes, 90.8% of people registered as Dore 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 Dore still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dore 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 Dore 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 are called Dore?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.