Dorothy is a female given name. It comes from the Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον (dōron), "gift"[1] + θεός (theós), "god".[2] There are also male names in English such as "Dorie" from the Greek word Δωρόθεος (Dōrótheos). Also, the given names Theodore and Theodora come from the same two Greek words as Dorothy, but in the reverse order.
Dorothy 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 was in the top 100 most popular names for American girls until 1961. In 2006 it was ranked 986 in the top 1,000 most popular names for American newborn girls. There were 235 newborn American girls given the name in 2010.[3]
Famous people named Dorothy
- Dorothy Allison, American writer
- Dorothy Arnold, American socialite who disappeared mysteriously
- Dorothy Dandridge, actress
- D. C. Fontana (Dorothy Catherine), screenplay writer
- Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist
- Dorothy Gish, American actress
- Dorothy Hamill, figure skater
- Dorothy Hodgkin, British biochemist and winner of Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- Dorothy Lee, 1930s American actress-comedian
- Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, American astronaut
- Dorothy Parker, American poet
- Dorothy L. Sayers, English writer
- Dorothy Scharf, English philanthropist
- Dorothy Stang (1931-2005), Catholic nun of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur
- Dorothy Sterling, American writer
- Dorothy Vest, American female tennis player
- Dorothy Wordsworth, sister of William Wordsworth
- Dorothy Faye Dunaway, American actress
- Dorothy Bush Koch, daughter of the 41st President of the United States George H. W. Bush and sister of George W. Bush, the 43rd President
In fiction:
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
- ↑ "Popular Baby Names". www.ssa.gov.
