| Dorothy | |
|---|---|
Dorothy Gale is a character in L. Frank Baum's classic children's novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. |
|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/Name | Greek |
| Meaning | Gift of God |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Theodore, Dottie, Theodora, Dot, Doreen, Dorothea, Dorothie, Dorothi |
Dorothy is a female given name from Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothea) meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον (dōron), "gift"[1] + θεός (theos), "god".[2] The earliest form of the word δῶρον is the Mycenaean Greek do-ra, meaning "gift", written in Linear B syllabic script. [3] Although much less common, there are also male equivalents in English such as "Dorie" from the Greek masculine Δωροθέος (Dōrotheos). Also, the given name Theodora is derived from the same two Greek root words as Dorothy, reversed in order.
Dorothy was most popular in the United States between 1904 and 1940, when it was ranked among the top 10 most popular names given to newborn girls. The name remained among the top 100 most popular names for American girls until 1961. It then declined in popularity and was last ranked among the top 1,000 most popular names for American newborn girls in 2006, when it was ranked in 986th position. There were 235 newborn American girls given the name in 2010. Just 20 American girls were given the variant name Dorothea in 2010.[4]
In fiction:
| This page or section lists people that share the same given name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article. |