Dorothea
About Dorothea
Dorothea is a romantic Victorian-sounding name that blends elegance, gravitas and a hint of clunkiness too. Popular in the early decades of the twentieth century, it has been off the charts since 1970, however it's definitely on the brink of a revival! In fact, it has already been making its way back into the UK Top 1000, and a recent year saw it given to 90 girls in the US — three times the number it was given to a decade prior.
A relative of Dorothy, Theodore, and Theodora, Dorothea is comprised of the same Greek elements, doron and theos, meaning "gift" and "god". It has has a long literary history, including as a clever and beautiful character in Don Quixote and the intelligent and generous heroine of George Eliot's Middlemarch.
Worthy namesakes include Dorothea Dix, nineteenth century activist for the mentally ill and Civil War nurse, and the influential documentary photographer Dorothea Lange, known for her moving portraits taken during the Great Depression. It is also a saint name, borne by Dorothea of Alexandria, Dorothea of Caesarea (the patron saint of florists), and Dorothea of Montau (saint and visionary).
Appealing nickname possibilities include Dorrie, Dolly, Doro, Dodie, Dot, Dottie and Thea, while international variants include the Spanish Dorotea, the Czech and Polish Dorota, and the Hungarian Dorina.
In English, the name would likely be pronounced as dawr-uh-THEE-uh, while in German, it is said as do-ro-TEH-a
Pronounced dor-o-THEE-uh.
As of October 2026, Dorothea ranked #1782 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #174 in 1912, Nameberry popularity #485.
Editor: Sophie Kihm
Sources: US popularity data is from the Social Security Administration. Meanings and origins are from Nameberry's name references.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #4,930 | 28 | 15.7 |
| 2015 | #3,936 | 38 | 21.3 |
| 2016 | #3,536 | 44 | 24.8 |
| 2017 | #3,449 | 45 | 26.1 |
| 2018 | #2,818 | 60 | 35.3 |
| 2019 | #3,292 | 48 | 28.6 |
| 2020 | #2,788 | 59 | 36.5 |
| 2021 | #2,423 | 74 | 45.1 |
| 2022 | #2,727 | 63 | 38.4 |
| 2023 | #2,759 | 62 | 38.6 |
| 2024 | #2,066 | 93 | 57.4 |
| 2025 | #1,782 | 113 | 70.3 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dorothea.
- Wilhelmina
- Philippa
- Agatha
- Agnes
- Theodora
- Henrietta
- Augusta
- Tabitha
- Alma
- Sybil
- Ramona
- Constance
- Ingrid
- Rosamund
- Esther
- Winifred
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Dorothea on lists
Famous Dorotheas
- Dorothea of Bulgaria
Queen consort of Tvrtko I of Bosnia
- Dorothea of Saxe
Lauenburg, Queen consort of Christopher III and Christian I of Denmark and Norway
- Dorothea of Brandenburg
Queen consort of Christian III of Denmark and Sweden
- Dorothea Margaretta Lange
American photojournalist
- Dorothea Lynde Dix
American mental health activist
- Dorothea Roschmann
German soprano
- Dorothea Katherine Douglass Lambert Chambers
English tennis player
- Dorothea Wolbert
American actress
- Dorothea Margaret Tanning
American painter
- Dorothea Jordan
Anglo,Irish actress and mistress of King William IV of England
- Dorothea
Princess of Denmark, Duchess of Brunswick,Luneburg
- Dorothea Maria of Anhalt
Duchess of Saxe,Weimar
- Dorothea Wierer
Italian biathlete
- Dorothea Primrose Campbell
Scottish poet
- Dorothea Mackellar
Australian poet
- Dorothea Church
American model
- Dorothea Sophia
Princess of Schleswig,Holstein,Sonderburg,Glücksburg, Electress of Brandenburg
- Dorothea Lasky
American poet
Dorothea in pop culture
- Dorothea
character in the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare
- Dorothea Brooke
character in "Middlemarch" by George Eliot
- Dorothea Garibaldi
character in The Cheetah Girls series
- Dorothea Arnult
character in Fire Emblem Three Houses video game
- dorothea
song by Taylor Swift