Given name & surname
Dolores
“woman of sorrow; refers to the Virgin Mary”
Dolores is used as a given name and a surname. One Spanish interpretation is “woman of sorrow; refers to the Virgin Mary.”
Original SpanishLola
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Spanish interpretation is “woman of sorrow; refers to the Virgin Mary.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Dolores through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 212,776
- 1,336 boys · 211,440 girls
- Most popular year
- 1930
- 12,919 babies
- 2025
- 68
- #2,567 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +37%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 68 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,567 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 37.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 12,842 in 1930. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (13 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 104,660 as a first name in 2020; 1,520 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dolores’s family of names
In English usage, Dolores has a diminutive in Dee. Dolores shares a linguistic root with Dores. Dolores has a related form in Delores.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Dolores has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Dolores
- Dolores O'RiordanIrish musician (1971–2018)
- Dolores IbárruriSpanish Republican leader of the Spanish Civil War and communist politician (1895-1989)
- Dolores CostelloAmerican actress (1903–1979)
- Dolores HartAmerican Roman Catholic religious nun, and former actressborn 1938
- Chita RiveraAmerican actress, dancer and singer (1933–2024)
- Lola MoraArgentine sculptor (1866–1936)
- Dolores GrayAmerican actress (1924–2002)
- Dolores RedondoSpanish novelist and restaurateur (born 1969)
- Dolores DelgadoSpanish prosecutor and politicianborn 1962
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Dolores, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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