Dotsie
A diminutive form of the English name Dorothy or Dorothea meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 17 living Americans carry the first name Dotsie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dotsie today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dotsie births was 1927 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dotsie. 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 Dotsie is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dotsies were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Dotsie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
17
~ 1 in 20,162,020 Americans
Peak year
1927
9 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1952 SSA rank
#5,788
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Dotsie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dotsie 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 46 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
Dotsie 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 Dotsie 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 Dotsie
The name Dotsie is an English diminutive form of the name Dorothy, which is derived from the Greek name Dorothea. Dorothea is composed of the elements "doron," meaning gift, and "theos," meaning God. It essentially translates to "gift of God."
The name Dorothy has been in use since the 3rd century AD and was popularized by the veneration of the 4th-century virgin martyr, Saint Dorothy of Caesarea. Her story and the legend surrounding her martyrdom played a significant role in the name's widespread adoption throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Dotsie was Dotsie Bausch, an American ballet dancer, and choreographer born in 1939. She founded the Feld Ballet company in 1962 and received numerous accolades for her innovative choreography and contributions to the world of modern dance.
Another notable figure was Dotsie Mellett, an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975, representing Arizona's 4th congressional district. She was born in 1919 and worked tirelessly to advocate for women's rights and environmental conservation.
In the world of sports, Dotsie Bausch (born 1973) is a former American cyclist and Olympic silver medalist. She competed in the 2012 London Olympics and has been a vocal advocate for clean sport and athletes' rights.
Dotsie Parker (1913-1986) was an American actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout the 1940s and 1950s. She is best known for her supporting roles in classic movies such as "The Pride of the Yankees" and "Miracle on 34th Street."
Lastly, Dotsie Millbrook (1925-2003) was a Mohawk activist and educator from the Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne. She dedicated her life to preserving and promoting the Mohawk language and culture, working as a teacher and advocate for Indigenous rights.
People
Dotsie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dotsie 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
Dotsie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dotsie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 17 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dotsie 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 20,162,020 US residents.
Is Dotsie a common name?
We classify Dotsie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 37.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 118 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dotsie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dotsie was 1927, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dotsie is about 82 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 Dotsie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dotsie a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dotsie 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 Dotsie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dotsie 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 Dotsie 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 people have Dotsie as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.