Meaning & origin
A reliable meaning for Doretha isn’t established in our sources yet. Rather than guess, we show what is recorded: how the name is used, how often, and the names it’s connected to.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1896. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Doretha through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 8,562
- 0 boys · 8,562 girls
- Most popular year
- 1956
- 198 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1998. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,935 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Doretha’s family of names
The ring: across languages.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Doretha, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Doreen
“the golden one” · “a brooding woman”
>99% girls
Debra
“bee”
>99% girls
Dori
“a gift of God” · “of the ancient Greek tribe, the Dorians”
>99% girls
Dianna
Dianna is a feminine given name from Latin.
>99% girls
Donna
“ruler of the world”
>99% girls
Dinah
“(female) judge” · “judgment”
>99% girls
Debora
“bee”
>99% girls
Delia
“a good-hearted woman; a woman of honesty” · “born of the nobility”
>99% girls