Dorrian
A masculine name of French origin meaning "from Dorian".
Name Census estimates that about 501 living Americans carry the first name Dorrian. It is a predominantly male name (93.9% of registrations). The average person named Dorrian today is around 23 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorrian births was 2002 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorrian. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Dorrian with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
501
~ 1 in 684,140 Americans
Peak year
2002
28 babies that year
Average age
23
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,707
Tracked since 1972
Census
Dorrian in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 502 people with the first name Dorrian, which placed it at #20,542 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
#20,542
National first-name rank
People counted
502
502 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorrian
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorrian is Black at 71.1%. The next largest groups are White (14.5%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Dorrian 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 Dorrian at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.1% · 357
- White14.5% · 73
- Two or more races6.6% · 33
- Hispanic or Latino5.8% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Dorrian
Dorrian leans heavily male at 93.9% of total registrations, but 31 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Dorrian as a male name
- Ranked #12,707 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2008 (24 births)
Dorrian as a female name
- Ranked #16,164 in 2002
- 5 female births in 2002
- Peak: 1989 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dorrian on both sides of the split. Of the 506 people counted with this name, 398 were male (78.7%) and 108 were female (21.3%).
Popularity
Dorrian: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorrian from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 195 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorrian 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 Dorrian 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 Dorrian
The name Dorrian is believed to have originated from the Old French language, specifically from the word "doré," which means "golden." This name likely gained popularity during the Middle Ages in France, where it was used to describe someone with golden hair or a tanned complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dorrian can be traced back to the 13th century, when it appeared in a French manuscript detailing the lives of various saints and religious figures. It is thought that this name may have been given to a child born with a golden hue or to commemorate the birth occurring during the golden hour of dawn.
Throughout history, the name Dorrian has been associated with several notable individuals. One such person was Dorrian of Antioch, a Christian martyr who lived in the 3rd century AD. According to historical records, Dorrian was executed for his beliefs during the Diocletianic Persecution, which targeted Christians in the Roman Empire.
In the 9th century, a French nobleman named Dorrian de Montfort was known for his courage and military prowess in the Crusades. He fought alongside King Louis IX of France and played a significant role in the Seventh Crusade to the Holy Land.
Another prominent figure with the name Dorrian was an Italian artist and architect, Dorrian Della Robbia, who lived during the Renaissance period (1446-1527). He was renowned for his sculptures and glazed terracotta works, many of which can still be found adorning churches and buildings in Florence and other Italian cities.
In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook Dorrian Fairchild, a fictional character from the popular "The Mortal Instruments" book series by Cassandra Clare. Fairchild, a Shadowhunter, was a prominent figure in the series and played a pivotal role in the narrative.
Despite its age and rich history, the name Dorrian has remained relatively rare throughout the centuries. However, its connection to the golden hue and the various notable individuals who bore this name have contributed to its lasting legacy and continued use, albeit in a limited capacity.
People
Dorrian + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorrian 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
Dorrian: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorrian?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 501 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorrian 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 684,140 US residents.
Is Dorrian a common name?
We classify Dorrian as "Very Rare". It ranks above 84.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 511 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorrian most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorrian was 2002, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorrian is about 23 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dorrian in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 502 people with the name Dorrian, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,542 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 Dorrian 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 Dorrian?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Dorrian on both sides of the split. Of the 506 people counted with this name, 398 were male (78.7%) and 108 were female (21.3%). 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 Dorrian?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorrian is Black at 71.1%. The next largest groups are White (14.5%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Dorrian most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Dorrian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.1% (357 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 Dorrian in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorrian a male name?
Yes, 93.9% of people registered as Dorrian in the SSA data are male. 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 Dorrian still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorrian 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 Dorrian 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 Dorrian?
See how many Americans are named Dorrian on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.