Doristine
A feminine name meaning "gift of God" or "gift from God".
Name Census estimates that about 82 living Americans carry the first name Doristine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Doristine today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Doristine births was 1956 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Doristine. 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 Doristine is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Doristines were born before 1963.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Doristine. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
82
~ 1 in 4,179,931 Americans
Peak year
1956
11 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1968 SSA rank
#7,293
Tracked since 1934
Census
Doristine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 111 people with the first name Doristine, which placed it at #51,800 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
#51,800
National first-name rank
People counted
111
111 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
91.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Doristine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Doristine is Black at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and White (2.7%). 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 Doristine 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 Doristine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American91.9% · 102
- Two or more races4.5% · 5
- White2.7% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Popularity
Doristine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Doristine from the 1930s through to the 1960s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 66 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
Doristine 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 Doristine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Doristines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Doristine
The name Doristine originated from the Greek language and culture, emerging during the classical era of ancient Greece. It is a feminine form derived from the Greek word "doris," meaning "gift." This suggests that the name was initially bestowed upon children as a symbolic representation of their perceived status as a precious gift.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Doristine can be traced back to the 5th century BCE, where it was mentioned in a fragment of an ancient Greek play written by the renowned playwright Euripides. This reference suggests that the name was already in use during the golden age of Athenian drama.
Throughout the centuries, Doristine has been borne by several notable figures, though its popularity has fluctuated over time. In the 2nd century CE, a Greek philosopher named Doristine of Ephesus was known for her contributions to the study of ethics and moral philosophy. Her writings, though largely lost to history, were influential in shaping the intellectual discourse of her time.
During the Byzantine era, a woman named Doristine became a prominent figure in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Born in the 9th century CE, she was revered for her piety and devotion, and her name was associated with virtues of humility and service.
In the 16th century, a French noblewoman named Doristine de Montmorency gained recognition for her patronage of the arts and her influence in the court of King Henry IV. Her support for artists and writers during the Renaissance period helped foster a flourishing cultural environment in France.
Another notable figure bearing the name Doristine was a 19th-century Russian writer and poet. Born in 1812, Doristine Dolgorukova was celebrated for her lyrical works that explored themes of love, nature, and the human experience. Her poetry was widely read and admired during her lifetime, and she is still regarded as a significant figure in Russian literature.
While the name Doristine has seen periods of relative obscurity, it has endured as a unique and meaningful moniker throughout history. Its Greek roots and associations with gifts, philosophy, and artistic expression have contributed to its enduring legacy as a name rich in cultural significance.
People
Doristine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Doristine 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
Doristine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Doristine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 82 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Doristine 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 4,179,931 US residents.
Is Doristine a common name?
We classify Doristine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 61.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 140 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Doristine most popular?
The single biggest year for Doristine was 1956, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Doristine is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Doristine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 111 people with the name Doristine, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,800 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 Doristine 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 Doristine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Doristine appears almost entirely female. Of the 106 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Doristine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Doristine is Black at 91.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.5%) and White (2.7%). 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 Doristine most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Doristine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (102 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 Doristine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Doristine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Doristine 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 Doristine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Doristine 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 Doristine 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 Americans are named Doristine?
You can see how many people have the name Doristine on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.