Dori
A feminine name of Greek origin meaning "gift".
Name Census estimates that about 4,212 living Americans carry the first name Dori. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dori today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dori births was 1961 (211 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dori. 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
4.2K
~ 1 in 81,376 Americans
Peak year
1961
211 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,554
Tracked since 1946
Census
Dori in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 5,230 people with the first name Dori, which placed it at #3,790 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
#3,790
National first-name rank
People counted
5.2K
5,230 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
80.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dori
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dori is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (5.9%). 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 Dori 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 Dori at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White80.5% · 4,212
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 382
- Black or African American5.9% · 308
- Two or more races3.1% · 163
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 135
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 30
Popularity
Dori: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dori from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,662 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
Dori 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 Dori during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Doris live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, New York, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Dori, while Oregon, Maryland, Utah recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 96 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dori
The name Dori has its origins in the Greek language and culture, dating back to ancient times. It is believed to be a shortened form of the Greek name Dorothea, which means "gift of God" or "divine gift." The name Dorothea itself is derived from the Greek words "doron," meaning gift, and "theos," meaning God.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Dori can be found in ancient Greek literature, where it was used as a diminutive or nickname for Dorothea. The name gained popularity in the Greek-speaking world and was later adopted by other cultures and regions.
In the early Christian era, the name Dori gained significance as it was associated with several saints and martyrs. One notable example is Saint Doria, a 4th-century martyr from Antioch who was venerated for her unwavering faith and courage in the face of persecution.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Dori. One of the earliest recorded instances is Dori of Samos, a Greek architect and sculptor who lived in the 6th century BC and is credited with designing the famous Temple of Hera on the island of Samos.
Another notable figure was Dori Gersoni, a 16th-century Italian Jewish scholar and author who wrote extensively on Jewish law and philosophy. She was born in 1510 and is recognized for her contributions to the intellectual and religious discourse of her time.
In the world of literature, the name Dori is associated with the character Dori, one of the main protagonists in the classic novel "The Odyssey" by Homer. Dori was a mermaid who played a pivotal role in helping Odysseus and his crew navigate the treacherous waters of the Mediterranean Sea.
In more recent times, the name Dori gained popularity in the United States and other English-speaking countries. One notable figure was Dori Seda, an American singer and actress who was born in 1949. She is best known for her role in the hit Broadway musical "West Side Story" and her successful music career in the 1960s and 1970s.
Another famous Dori was Dori Wollen, a pioneering American photographer and artist who was born in 1933. Her work focused on capturing the essence of everyday life and the human condition, and she is widely celebrated for her contributions to the field of documentary photography.
While the name Dori has its roots in Greek culture and language, it has transcended geographical and cultural boundaries, becoming a beloved name across various regions and time periods. Its enduring popularity can be attributed to its pleasant sound, rich historical significance, and association with notable figures throughout history.
People
Dori + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dori 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
Dori: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dori?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,212 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dori 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 81,376 US residents.
Is Dori a common name?
We classify Dori as "Rare". It ranks above 96.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,935 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dori most popular?
The single biggest year for Dori was 1961, when 211 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dori is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dori in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 5,230 people with the name Dori, or 1.73 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,790 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 Dori 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 Dori?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dori leans strongly female. 5,142 people counted with this name were female (98.4%), compared with 81 male bearers (1.6%). 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 Dori?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dori is White at 80.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.3%) and Black (5.9%). 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 Dori most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dori in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.5% (4,212 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 Dori in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dori a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dori 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 Dori still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dori 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 Dori 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 common is the name Dori?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.