Dorothy (given name)
 | |
| Pronunciation | /ˈdɒrəθi/ |
|---|---|
| Gender | Female |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Greek |
| Meaning | Gift of God |
| Other names | |
| Related names | Theodore, Dottie, Dotty, Theodora, Dorothea, Dolly, Dorothee, Dot |
Dorothy is a female given name. It comes from Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον (dōron), "gift"[1] + θεός (theós), "god".[2] Although much less common, there are also male equivalents in English such as Dory , from the Greek masculine Δωρόθεος (Dōrótheos). Also, the given names Theodore and Theodora are derived from the same two Greek root words as Dorothy, albeit reversed in order. The name was at one time viewed as the English equivalent of the etymologically unrelated Russian name Daria or its diminutive Dasha.[3]
Traditional English diminutives include, among others, Do, Dodi, Dodie, Doe, Dori, Dorie, Dory, Doll, Dolley, Dollie, Dolly, Dot, Dottie, Dotty, Tea, and Thea.
Dorothy was a less common variant of Dorothea until it became more common and one of the top 10 most popular girl's names in the United States between 1904 and 1940. The name remained among the top 100 most popular names for American girls until 1961. It briefly left the top 1,000 names for American girls in 2007 but returned in 2011 and has since increased in popularity. In 2020, it ranked 534th among the most used names for American newborn girls, with 559 girls given the name in that year. Variant Dorothea is in occasional use in the United States, where 57 girls were given the name in 2020.[4]
Notable people[]
- Dorothy Allison, American writer
- Dorothy Arnold, American socialite who disappeared mysteriously
- Dorothy Arnold, American actress
- Dorothy Appleby, American actress
- Dorothy Bernard, American actress
- Dorothy Christy, American actress
- Dorothy "Dodie" Clark, British singer-songwriter and YouTuber
- Dorothy Coburn, American actress
- Dorothy Dalton, American actress
- Dorothy Dandridge, American actress
- Dorothy Davenport, American actress
- Dorothy Day, American journalist, social activist
- Dorothy Dell, American actress
- Dorothy Devore, American actress
- Dorothy Dunbar, American actress
- Dorothy Dunnett, Scottish historical novelist
- Dorothy Dwan, American actress
- Dorothy Fletcher (1927–2017), New Zealand historian
- D. C. Fontana (Dorothy Catherine Fontana, 1939–2019), screenplay writer
- Dorothy Garlock, American author
- Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist
- Dorothy Edna Genders, Australian Anglican deaconess
- Dorothy Gibson, American actress
- Dorothy Gish, American actress
- Dorothy Gulliver, American actress
- Dorothy Hamill, American figure skater
- Dorothy Hodgkin, British biochemist and winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Dorothy Janis, American actress
- Dorothy Misener Jurney, American journalist
- Dorothy Kelly, American actress
- Dorothy Kilgallen, American journalist and television game show panelist.
- Dorothy Bush Koch, daughter of United States President George H. W. Bush and sister of President George W. Bush
- Dorothy, Lady Pakington (1623–1679), English writer
- Dorothy Lawrence (1896–1964), English reporter, secretly posed as a man to become a British soldier during World War I
- Dorothy Bell Lawrence (1911–1973), New York assemblywoman
- Dorothy Lee (actress), American actress-comedian
- Dorothy Leigh (died c. 1616), British writer
- Dorothy Mabiletsa, South African politician
- Dorothy Mackaill (1903–1990), British-American actress
- Dorothy Manley (1927–2021), British sprinter
- Dorothy Manning (1919–2012), New Zealand artist
- Dorothy McAulay Martin (born 1937), First Lady of North Carolina
- Dorothy McGuire (1916-2001), American actress
- Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, American astronaut
- Dorothy Miner (1904–1973), American art historian
- Dorothy Miner, American lawyer
- Dorothy Moskowitz, American singer
- Dorothy Parker (1893–1967), American satirist and poet
- Dorothy Phillips, American actress
- Dorothy Peto, first female police super-intendant in the UK
- Dorothy Revier, American actress
- Dorothy Robertson (died 1979), New Zealand painter
- Dorothy H. Rose (1920–2005), New York assemblywoman
- Dorothy L. Sayers (1893–1957), English writer
- Dorothy Scharf, English philanthropist
- Dorothy Seastrom, American actress
- Dorothy Sebastian, American actress
- Dorothy Squires (1915–1998), Welsh singer
- Dorothy Stang (1931–2005), Catholic nun of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
- Dorothy Sterling, American writer
- Dorothy Stratten, Canadian Playboy Playmate, model and actress
- Dorothy Mae Taylor (1928–2000), African-American politician and civil rights activist
- Dorothy Ann Thrupp (1779–1847), English psalmist, hymnwriter, translator
- Dorothy Vaughan (1910–2008), African American mathematician and human computer who worked for NACA and NASA
- Dorothy Vest, American tennis player
- Dorothy Wall (1894–1942), New Zealand-born author
- Dorothy Wallace, American mathematician
- Dorothy Wang, American television personality
- Dorothy Grace Waring (1891–1977), English fascist campaigner and novelist
- Dorothy Wordsworth, sister of William Wordsworth
Fictional characters[]
- Dorothy Gale, the little girl who was blown to the Land of Oz by a cyclone in L. Frank Baum's 1900 book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and the classic 1939 movie adaptation The Wizard of Oz
- Doll Tearsheet, also referred to as "Mistress Dorothy", a prostitute in Shakespeare's play Henry IV, Part 2
- Dorothy Zbornak, played by Bea Arthur on the long-running TV sitcom The Golden Girls
- Dorothy Albright, a character from the video game series Arcana Heart
- Dorothy, a goldfish owned by Elmo in Sesame Street
- Dorothy Michaels, alias used by the female impersonator in the 1982 comedy film Tootsie, played by Dustin Hoffman
- Dorothy Cramp, a character from the animated series The Cramp Twins
- R. Dorothy Wayneright, female android in the anime series Big O
- Dot Branning, fictional character on the television show EastEnders
- Dorothy Catalonia, a character from the Gundam Wing anime series
- Dorothy Williams, a character from the TV series Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries
- Dorothy, a talented archer, with low self esteem from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- Dorothy the Dinosaur, a character from The Wiggles
- Dorothy "Ace" McShane, a companion of the Seventh Doctor from Doctor Who, played by Sophie Aldred
See also[]
- Dorothea (disambiguation)
- Dorothee (given name)
References[]
- ^ δῶρον, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- ^ θεός, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- ^ Yonge, Charlotte Mary. History of Christian Names.
- ^ "Popular Baby Names".
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