Dorthula
A feminine name of obscure origin, possibly a variant of Dorothy.
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Dorthula. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dorthula today is around 89 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorthula births was 1926 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorthula. 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 Dorthula is about 89 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dorthulas were born before 1947.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dorthula. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1926
8 babies that year
Average age
89
years old
1950 SSA rank
#4,886
Tracked since 1916
Popularity
Dorthula: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorthula from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 31 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
Dorthula 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 Dorthula 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 Dorthula
Dorthula is a unique and uncommon given name with roots tracing back to ancient Germanic origins. The name is believed to have derived from the Old High German words "dorft" or "dorf," meaning village, and "huldiz," meaning gracious or kind. This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone with a gracious or kind demeanor from a particular village or settlement.
In the early medieval period, variations of the name, such as Dorthilda and Dorthild, were found in historical records from regions like modern-day Germany, France, and the Low Countries. Some scholars believe these early forms of the name may have been influenced by the Gothic name Daurhaidis, which shared similar linguistic roots.
One of the earliest known recorded instances of the name Dorthula appears in a 9th-century manuscript from the Benedictine abbey of St. Gall in present-day Switzerland. The manuscript mentions a nun named Dorthula who lived in the abbey during that time.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Dorthula was relatively uncommon but can be found in various historical documents and records across parts of Europe. One notable figure was Dorthula von Montfort, a 13th-century noblewoman from the House of Montfort in southern Germany.
In the 16th century, a woman named Dorthula Frölich was recorded as one of the first female printers in Germany, operating a printing press in the city of Nürnberg. Her work contributed to the dissemination of knowledge during the Renaissance period.
Another individual bearing the name was Dorthula von Sachsen-Lauenburg, who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. She was a German princess and the daughter of Duke Franz II of Saxe-Lauenburg.
In the 18th century, a woman named Dorthula Sophia Fraulein von Kunowitz was a renowned painter and engraver from Nuremberg, known for her detailed portrait miniatures and landscapes.
While the name Dorthula has remained relatively rare throughout history, these examples illustrate its presence across various regions and time periods, particularly in areas with Germanic cultural influences. Despite its uncommon nature, the name has endured for centuries, carrying its unique blend of linguistic roots and historical associations.
People
Dorthula + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorthula 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
Dorthula: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorthula?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorthula 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Dorthula a common name?
We classify Dorthula as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorthula most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorthula was 1926, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorthula is about 89 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Dorthula a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorthula 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.