Dorla
A feminine given name of uncertain origin and meaning.
Name Census estimates that about 303 living Americans carry the first name Dorla. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dorla today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorla births was 1930 (171 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorla. 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 Dorla is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dorlas were born before 1960.
People living today
303
~ 1 in 1,131,202 Americans
Peak year
1930
171 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1970 SSA rank
#8,325
Tracked since 1923
Popularity
Dorla: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorla from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 590 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorla 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 Dorla during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dorlas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Illinois, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma recorded the most babies named Dorla, while South Dakota, Idaho, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorla
The name Dorla originated from the Old English language, traced back to the 9th century AD. It is derived from the Old English word "dor," meaning "beloved" or "dear one." The name was prevalent in Anglo-Saxon England and was often used as a feminine form of the masculine name Dorlac.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dorla can be found in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The book mentions a woman named Dorla who held land in the county of Norfolk.
In the 12th century, a nun named Dorla of Winchester was known for her dedication to religious life and her contributions to the local community. She lived at the Nunnaminster (Nunna's monastery) in Winchester, England, and was renowned for her charitable works.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dorla gained popularity among the noble classes in England. One notable bearer of the name was Dorla de Montfort, a noblewoman from the powerful Montfort family who lived in the 13th century. She was known for her involvement in the political affairs of her time.
In the 16th century, a woman named Dorla Swinburn was recorded as one of the earliest settlers in the British colony of Virginia. She arrived in Jamestown in 1609 and is believed to have been among the first English women to establish a permanent settlement in North America.
Another notable figure with the name Dorla was Dorla Hawker, an English author and poet who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. She published several works of poetry and was known for her romantic and naturalistic themes.
People
Dorla + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorla 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
Dorla: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorla?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 303 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorla 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 1,131,202 US residents.
Is Dorla a common name?
We classify Dorla as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,089 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorla most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorla was 1930, when 171 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorla is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dorla a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorla 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.
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.