Dorie
A feminine French name derived from "Doria", meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,340 living Americans carry the first name Dorie. It is a predominantly female name (98.0% of registrations). The average person named Dorie today is around 54 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorie births was 1962 (69 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorie. 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
1.3K
~ 1 in 255,787 Americans
Peak year
1962
69 babies that year
Average age
54
years old
1951 SSA rank
#3,850
Tracked since 1913
Census
Dorie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,674 people with the first name Dorie, which placed it at #8,625 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
#8,625
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,674 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorie is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Dorie 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 Dorie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 1,244
- Black or African American11.5% · 193
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 108
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.7% · 78
- Two or more races2.5% · 42
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Dorie
Dorie leans heavily female at 98.0% of total registrations, but 36 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dorie as a male name
- Ranked #3,850 in 1951
- 5 male births in 1951
- Peak: 1942 (12 births)
Dorie as a female name
- Ranked #15,941 in 2022
- 5 female births in 2022
- Peak: 1962 (69 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dorie leans strongly female. 1,612 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 75 male bearers (4.4%).
Popularity
Dorie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorie from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 451 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
Dorie 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 Dorie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dories live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, New York, Michigan recorded the most babies named Dorie, while Florida, Texas, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 33 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorie
The name Dorie finds its origins in the French language and culture, emerging as a diminutive form of the name Dorothea. Dorothea itself traces its roots back to the ancient Greek name Dorotheos, which translates to "Gift of God." This name gained significant popularity during the early Christian era, as it was believed to have been borne by a maiden martyred for her faith.
In the 5th century, the name Dorothea appeared in the apocryphal Acts of the Apostolic Teachings, which recounted the story of a young virgin named Dorothea who embraced Christianity and was subsequently persecuted and executed for her beliefs. This narrative contributed to the name's widespread adoption among early Christian communities across Europe.
The shortened form Dorie emerged as a French variation of Dorothea, likely during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name can be found in the works of the 12th-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, who mentioned a character named Dorie in his celebrated romance, "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Dorie. In the 16th century, Dorie Derrie (1508-1561) was a renowned French Renaissance poetess and member of the literary circle known as the Pléiade. In the 18th century, Dorie Germain (1776-1831) was a celebrated French mathematician and physicist, renowned for her contributions to the field of elasticity theory.
In the realm of literature, Dorie Miller (1919-1943) was an African American sailor who displayed remarkable courage during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, earning himself the Navy Cross for his bravery. Another historical figure of note is Dorie Wilson (1909-2003), an American actress and singer who enjoyed a successful career in both film and television throughout the 20th century.
During the late 19th century, the name Dorie gained popularity in the United States, with several notable individuals bearing the name. Dorie Renault (1867-1938) was a prominent American suffragette and activist who fought tirelessly for women's rights and played a pivotal role in the passage of the 19th Amendment, which granted American women the right to vote.
The name Dorie has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries and cultures. From its origins as a diminutive of the ancient Greek name Dorothea to its adoption by notable figures across various fields, this name has left an indelible mark on the tapestry of human civilization.
People
Dorie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorie 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
Dorie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,340 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorie 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 255,787 US residents.
Is Dorie a common name?
We classify Dorie as "Rare". It ranks above 91.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,772 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorie was 1962, when 69 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorie is about 54 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dorie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,674 people with the name Dorie, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,625 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 Dorie 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 Dorie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dorie leans strongly female. 1,612 people counted with this name were female (95.6%), compared with 75 male bearers (4.4%). 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 Dorie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorie is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.5%) and Hispanic (6.5%). 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 Dorie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dorie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (1,244 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 Dorie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorie a female name?
Yes, 98.0% of people registered as Dorie 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 Dorie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorie 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 Dorie 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 Dorie?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Dorie at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.