How popular is the baby name Dorothy in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Dorothy.

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Popularity of the baby name Dorothy


Posts that mention the name Dorothy

Popular baby names in Arizona, 2012

Flag of Arizona
Flag of Arizona

The most popular baby names in Arizona were announced recently.

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, Arizona’s top names are Jacob and Sophia — same as the top names in the nation right now.

Here are Arizona’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2012:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Sophia
2. Isabella
3. Emma
4. Mia
5. Olivia
6. Emily
7. Ava
8. Abigail
9. Madison
10. Sofia
11. Victoria
12. Camila
13. Natalie
14. Zoey
15. Elizabeth
16. Ella
17. Aaliyah
18. Zoe
19. Charlotte
20. Brooklyn		1. Jacob
2. Ethan
3. Daniel
4. Liam
5. Alexander
6. Anthony
7. Noah
8. Mason
9. Aiden
10. Michael
11. David
12. Jayden
13. Julian
14. Matthew
15. Andrew
16. Elijah
17. Isaac
18. William
19. Gabriel
20. Joshua

(For more, see the full list of Arizona’s top 100 baby names of 2012.)

To compare, here are Arizona’s top names of 1912:

Girl Names (1912)Boy Names (1912)
1. Mary
2. Maria
3. Helen
4. Dorothy
5. Margaret
6. Ruth
7. Mildred
8. Anna
9. Elizabeth
10. Frances		1. John
2. Jose
3. William
4. James
5. Robert
6. Joseph
7. George
8. Charles
9. Edward
10. Frank

José was the second most popular name in the state in 2002 and 2007 as well. It didn’t even make the top 20 in 2012, though.

Source: Arizona’s top baby names of 2012: Sophia, Isabella, Jacob, Ethan

Image: Adapted from Flag of Arizona (public domain)

New Jersey family with 18 children

kinderfest

In 1951, Joseph and Clara Carey of New Jersey welcomed their 18th child. The parents and all but three of the children posed for a newspaper photo that year. According to the caption, the 15 kids in the photo were named…

  • Carol, 17
  • Joseph, 15
  • Crawford, 13
  • William, 12
  • Margaret, 11
  • Raymond, 10
  • Geraldine, 9
  • Dorothy Ann, 8
  • Doris Joan, 7
  • Emily, 6
  • Dale, 5
  • Vernon, 4
  • Barbara, 3
  • Johnny, 2
  • Bruce, baby

What do you think the other three were named? (I have no idea about the genders.)

Which of the 15 names above is your favorite?

Source: “Mother Carey Has 18 Children Born in 18 Years.” Robesonian 16 Jan. 1951: 1.

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Pennsylvania family with 20 children

kinderfest

In October of 1952, Irma Griser of Pitcairn, Pennsylvania, welcomed her fifth set of twins — her 19th and 20th children.

In the most recent article I could find about Irma, she hadn’t yet named her most recent twins (a girl and a boy), so here are the names of her 18 older children:

  • Agnes, 17
  • Arthur, 15
  • Sarah, 13
  • Edward, 11
  • Delores and John, 10
  • Harvey, 9
  • Dorothy and Robert, 8
  • Mary and David, 6
  • James and Joseph, 5
  • Tommy, 4
  • Richard, Roy and Joan, 3
  • Sharon, nearly 2

What would you have named the twins?

And, which of the 18 names above is your favorite?

Source: “Fifth Set of Twins Makes 20 Children in Pitcairn Family.” Pittsburgh Press 2 Oct. 1952: 1.

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus

Maine family with 18 children

kinderfest

Yesterday, a reader named Kristin let me know about a Bagnor Daily News article about the 18-child Rancourt family of Winterport, Maine.

The parents, Harry and Alice, wed in 1909 and went on to have 17 children (and adopt one more):

  1. Dorothy, born in 1910
  2. Gaspar, b. 1911
  3. Mildred, b. 1912
  4. Leo, b. 1914
  5. Marion, b. 1916
  6. Marguerite, b. 1917
  7. Corinne, b. 1919
  8. Clara, b. 1920
  9. Harry, b. 1921
  10. Leon, b. 1923
  11. Clayton, b. 1924
  12. Alton, b. 1926
  13. Kenneth, b. 1927
  14. Reginald, b. 1929 (grandson adopted after his mother, Dorothy, died during childbirth)
  15. John, b. 1930
  16. Celestia, b. 1931
  17. Geraldine, b. 1932
  18. Iris, b. 1933

Which of these 18 names is your favorite?

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus