Dorothy is a female given name from Greek meaning "God's
Gift", from, "gift" + "god". The earliest form of the
word δῶρον is the Mycenaean Greek do-ra,
meaning "gifts", written in Linear B syllabic script. Although much
less common, there are also male equivalents in English such as
"Dorie" from the Greek masculine Δωρόθεος Also, the given names
Theodore and Theodora are derived from the same two Greek root words as
Dorothy, albeit reversed in order.
Dorothy was a less common variant of Dorothea, until it
became one of the most popular girl's names in the United States between 1904
and 1940. It was ranked among the top 10 most popular names given to American
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.
