Dorice
A feminine name derived from the Latin name Dorotheus, meaning "gift of God".
Name Census estimates that about 337 living Americans carry the first name Dorice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Dorice today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorice births was 1958 (25 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorice. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Dorice is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dorices were born before 1970.
People living today
337
~ 1 in 1,017,075 Americans
Peak year
1958
25 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1989 SSA rank
#12,942
Tracked since 1898
Census
Dorice in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 484 people with the first name Dorice, which placed it at #21,098 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#21,098
National first-name rank
People counted
484
484 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
52.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorice
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorice is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Dorice described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Dorice at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White52.9% · 256
- Black or African American39.9% · 193
- Two or more races2.7% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
Popularity
Dorice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorice from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 165 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorice by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Dorice during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dorices live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Illinois, Massachusetts, New York recorded the most babies named Dorice, while New York, Massachusetts, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorice
The name Dorice is a feminine given name of uncertain origin, with various theories proposed regarding its etymology and historical roots. One hypothesis suggests that it derives from the Greek name Doris, which itself may have originated from the ancient Greek word "doris," meaning "gift." This association with the concept of a gift could have symbolic connotations of the perceived value or specialness of a child bearing this name.
Another theory posits that Dorice is a variant or diminutive form of the name Dorothy, which has its roots in the Greek name Dorothea. Dorothea is composed of the elements "doron," meaning "gift," and "theos," meaning "god," thus carrying the broader meaning of "God's gift." This potential connection to the name Dorothy could indicate a shared linguistic heritage between the two names.
In terms of historical records, the name Dorice appears to have been in use as early as the late 19th century, although its documented instances are relatively sparse compared to more common names of the time. One notable early bearer of the name was Dorice Elliott (1877-1962), an American actress and singer who performed on Broadway and in vaudeville during the early 20th century.
Another historical figure with the name Dorice was Dorice Klugh (1909-1994), an American costume designer who worked on numerous Broadway productions and films, including the 1951 classic "Show Boat." Her contributions to the world of theater and cinema costuming earned her recognition and critical acclaim throughout her career.
In the literary realm, Dorice was the name of a character in the novel "The Man Who Lost Himself" by Henry De Vere Stacpoole, published in 1918. Although a minor character, her inclusion in the work provides a glimpse into the use of the name in early 20th-century literature.
Moving forward in time, Dorice Jarmyn (1925-2018) was a British actress and singer who appeared in various television shows and films throughout the mid-20th century, including a recurring role in the popular series "The Avengers" in the 1960s.
Lastly, Dorice Moore (born 1930) is an American singer and actress who achieved notable success in the 1950s and 1960s, particularly with her hit song "Cry Me a River" in 1958. Her contributions to the music industry and her enduring legacy as a performer solidify her place among the notable individuals who have borne the name Dorice.
People
Dorice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorice as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with D
Other first names starting with D with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Dorice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 337 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorice going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 1,017,075 US residents.
Is Dorice a common name?
We classify Dorice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 707 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorice most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorice was 1958, when 25 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorice is about 66 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dorice in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 484 people with the name Dorice, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,098 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Dorice in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Dorice?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dorice leans strongly female. 468 people counted with this name were female (96.1%), compared with 19 male bearers (3.9%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Dorice?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorice is White at 52.9%. The next largest groups are Black (39.9%) and Two or More Races (2.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Dorice most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dorice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.9% (256 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Dorice in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorice in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Dorice still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorice in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Dorice can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Dorice?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.