Dorraine
Of French origin meaning "feminine form of the name Dorian".
Name Census estimates that about 201 living Americans carry the first name Dorraine. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dorraine today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorraine births was 1963 (37 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorraine. 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
201
~ 1 in 1,705,245 Americans
Peak year
1963
37 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1974 SSA rank
#7,096
Tracked since 1920
Census
Dorraine in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 311 people with the first name Dorraine, which placed it at #28,739 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
#28,739
National first-name rank
People counted
311
311 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorraine
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorraine is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Dorraine 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 Dorraine at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.2% · 212
- Black or African American17.7% · 55
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.2% · 13
- Two or more races4.2% · 13
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 4
Popularity
Dorraine: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorraine from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 196 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
Dorraine 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 Dorraine during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dorraines live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Ohio, Illinois recorded the most babies named Dorraine, while Wisconsin, Illinois, Ohio recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorraine
Dorraine is a French feminine given name that emerged during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "dore," meaning "golden," and is thought to have ties to the Latin word "aureus," also meaning "golden." The name likely originated in regions of what is now modern-day France, where Old French was spoken.
Historically, the name Dorraine does not appear to have any direct references in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, its connection to the color gold and the idea of radiance or beauty may have been influenced by various cultural and artistic traditions that revered golden hues and sunlight.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dorraine was a French noblewoman named Dorraine de Montfort, who lived in the 13th century. She was known for her patronage of the arts and her support of local monasteries.
In the late 16th century, a woman named Dorraine Delacour (1578-1642) gained recognition as a skilled lacemaker and embroiderer in the French city of Lyon. Her intricate works were prized by the aristocracy and contributed to the city's reputation for fine textiles.
During the 17th century, Dorraine Duval (1625-1691) was a notable French writer and philosopher. She published several influential works exploring themes of morality, virtue, and the human condition, earning her a place among the intellectual elite of her time.
In the 19th century, Dorraine Lecomte (1818-1892) was a celebrated French painter known for her vibrant landscape paintings and depictions of rural life. Her works were exhibited at the prestigious Paris Salon and are now held in various museum collections.
Another notable figure was Dorraine Broussard (1889-1972), a French-American chef and restaurateur who helped popularize Cajun and Creole cuisine in the United States. Her restaurant in New Orleans, Dorraine's, became a landmark destination for locals and visitors alike, renowned for its authentic flavors and warm hospitality.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Dorraine, highlighting its French origins and the diverse fields in which it has been represented, from the arts and literature to culinary traditions.
People
Dorraine + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorraine 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
Dorraine: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorraine?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 201 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorraine 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 1,705,245 US residents.
Is Dorraine a common name?
We classify Dorraine as "Very Rare". It ranks above 74.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 354 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorraine most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorraine was 1963, when 37 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorraine is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dorraine in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 311 people with the name Dorraine, or 0.10 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,739 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 Dorraine 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 Dorraine?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dorraine appears almost entirely female. Of the 315 people counted with this name, 99.0% 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 Dorraine?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorraine is White at 68.2%. The next largest groups are Black (17.7%) and Hispanic (4.5%). 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 Dorraine most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dorraine in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.2% (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 Dorraine in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorraine a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorraine 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 Dorraine still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorraine 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 Dorraine 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 people have the name Dorraine?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.