Dovie
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially related to "dove".
Name Census estimates that about 1,629 living Americans carry the first name Dovie. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dovie today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dovie births was 1917 (235 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dovie. 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 Dovie with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.6K
~ 1 in 210,408 Americans
Peak year
1917
235 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1935 SSA rank
#3,801
Tracked since 1880
Census
Dovie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,751 people with the first name Dovie, which placed it at #8,310 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
#8,310
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,751 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
75.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dovie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dovie is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (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 Dovie 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 Dovie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White75.3% · 1,318
- Black or African American16.0% · 281
- Two or more races4.5% · 78
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Dovie
Out of the 9,056 babies given the name Dovie since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Dovie as a male name
- Ranked #3,801 in 1935
- 5 male births in 1935
- Peak: 1924 (5 births)
Dovie as a female name
- Ranked #4,676 in 2024
- 29 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1917 (235 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dovie leans strongly female. 1,701 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 49 male bearers (2.8%).
Popularity
Dovie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dovie from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 1,754 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dovie 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 Dovie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dovies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas recorded the most babies named Dovie, while Illinois, Ohio, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 243 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dovie
The given name Dovie is a feminine name with origins tracing back to the Hebrew language and Jewish culture. It is believed to have derived from the Hebrew word "dovah," which means "bear" or "teddy bear." The name has been in use since ancient times, although its popularity has fluctuated over the centuries.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Dovie can be found in the Talmud, a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The name appears in a few passages, often associated with women of notable character or wisdom. However, the specific details and context of these mentions are not well-documented.
In the Middle Ages, the name Dovie was occasionally used among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. It was sometimes spelled as "Duvie" or "Duvya," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and transliteration. During this period, the name was often chosen for its symbolic association with strength and endurance, qualities traditionally ascribed to bears.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Dovie. One such figure was Dovie Schochet (1892-1977), a Yiddish writer and educator from Belarus. She authored several books and played a significant role in promoting Yiddish literature and culture in the early 20th century.
Another prominent individual was Dovie Yarhi (1925-2017), a Turkish-Israeli singer and actress. Born in Istanbul, she gained fame for her performances in Turkish and Israeli films, as well as her recordings of traditional Sephardic and Middle Eastern music.
In the United States, Dovie Naomi Lush (1903-1996) was a prominent social worker and advocate for children's welfare. She served as the executive director of the Child Welfare League of America from 1949 to 1968 and played a crucial role in shaping child welfare policies and practices.
Dovie Marie Shuler (1920-1997) was an American painter and sculptor known for her abstract and modernist works. Her pieces were exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States, and she received numerous awards and accolades for her contributions to the art world.
Lastly, Dovie Nell Thornhill (1920-1995) was a professional baseball player who participated in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. Her athletic achievements helped pave the way for greater recognition and opportunities for women in sports.
While the name Dovie has maintained a consistent presence throughout history, it has never achieved widespread popularity. Nevertheless, its unique and meaningful origins have ensured that it remains a distinctive and treasured name choice for many families around the world.
People
Dovie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dovie 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
Dovie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dovie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,629 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dovie 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 210,408 US residents.
Is Dovie a common name?
We classify Dovie as "Rare". It ranks above 92.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,056 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dovie most popular?
The single biggest year for Dovie was 1917, when 235 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dovie is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dovie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,751 people with the name Dovie, or 0.58 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,310 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 Dovie 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 Dovie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dovie leans strongly female. 1,701 people counted with this name were female (97.2%), compared with 49 male bearers (2.8%). 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 Dovie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dovie is White at 75.3%. The next largest groups are Black (16.0%) and Two or More Races (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 Dovie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dovie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (1,318 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 Dovie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dovie a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Dovie 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 Dovie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dovie 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 Dovie 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 Dovie as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Dovie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.