Dorothy is a female given name. It comes from the Greek Δωροθέα (Dōrothéa) meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον (dōron), "gift" + θεός (theós), "god". 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.
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: Dorothy Catalonia, a character from the Gundam Wing anime series 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 and Oz the Great and Powerful Dorothy Michaels, name used by the female impersonator in the 1982 comedy film Tootsie, played by Dustin Hoffman Dorothy Zbornak, played by Bea Arthur on the long-running TV sitcom The Golden Girls R. Dorothy Wayneright, female android in the anime series Big O Dot Branning, fictional character on the television show EastEnders