Dorothymae
A compound feminine name blending Dorothy, meaning "gift of God," and Mae.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Dorothymae. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dorothymae today is around 134 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorothymae births was 1926 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorothymae. 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 Dorothymae is about 134 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dorothymaes were born before 1902.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dorothymae. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1926
12 babies that year
Average age
134
years old
1931 SSA rank
#3,995
Tracked since 1913
Popularity
Dorothymae: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorothymae from the 1910s through to the 1930s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 47 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorothymae 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 Dorothymae during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorothymae
The name Dorothymae is a combination of the names Dorothy and Mae. Dorothy is a female given name derived from the ancient Greek name Dorothea, which itself was composed from the elements doron meaning "gift" and theos meaning "god". The name Dorothea was borne by several early Christian saints and martyrs.
The name Mae is derived from the medieval feminine name Mary, which in turn came from the ancient Hebrew name Miryam. The origin and meaning of Miryam are uncertain, but some theories suggest it may be derived from the Egyptian word for "beloved" or the Hebrew root meaning "bitter" or "beloved".
While the name Dorothy has ancient origins, the combination Dorothymae appears to be a more modern construction, likely emerging in the 19th or early 20th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Dorothymae Underhill (1909-1998), an American writer and librarian.
Another notable Dorothymae was Dorothymae Brown (1919-2011), an American civil rights activist and community leader from Topeka, Kansas. She was involved in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court case that outlawed racial segregation in public schools.
In literature, the name Dorothymae appears in the novel "The Dollmaker" by Harriette Arnow, published in 1954. The novel's protagonist, Gertie Nevels, has a daughter named Dorothymae.
While not as widely used as the individual names Dorothy and Mae, Dorothymae has been given to a number of individuals throughout history. Some other notable bearers include Dorothymae Hultberg (1919-2014), an American politician and educator from Minnesota, and Dorothymae Donker (1920-2002), a Dutch-American artist and illustrator.
People
Dorothymae + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorothymae 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
Dorothymae: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorothymae?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorothymae 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 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Dorothymae a common name?
We classify Dorothymae as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 77 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorothymae most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorothymae was 1926, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorothymae is about 134 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Dorothymae in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorothymae a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorothymae 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 Dorothymae still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorothymae 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 Dorothymae 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many Americans are named Dorothymae?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.