Dorman
A masculine name of Germanic origin meaning "from the village".
Name Census estimates that about 614 living Americans carry the first name Dorman. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Dorman today is around 72 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Dorman births was 1928 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Dorman. 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 Dorman is about 72 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Dormans were born before 1964.
People living today
614
~ 1 in 558,232 Americans
Peak year
1928
64 babies that year
Average age
72
years old
2012 SSA rank
#12,770
Tracked since 1908
Census
Dorman in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 715 people with the first name Dorman, which placed it at #15,935 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
#15,935
National first-name rank
People counted
715
715 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Dorman
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorman is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Dorman 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 Dorman at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.0% · 615
- Black or African American6.2% · 44
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 22
- Two or more races2.9% · 21
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 6
Popularity
Dorman: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Dorman from the 1900s through to the 2010s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 503 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Dorman 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 Dorman during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Dormans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Kentucky, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Dorman, while West Virginia, Mississippi, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 34 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Dorman
The name Dorman is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with its roots dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain. It is derived from the Old English words "dor" meaning "door" and "mann" meaning "man," suggesting a possible connection to a gatekeeper or doorman.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Dorman can be traced back to the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of land ownership and taxation compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. This historical document lists several individuals with the surname Dorman, indicating the name's presence in medieval England.
During the Middle Ages, the name Dorman was particularly prevalent in the northern regions of England, such as Yorkshire and Northumberland. It was often associated with families involved in trades or professions related to doors, gates, or entry points, reflecting the name's etymological origins.
In religious texts, the name Dorman has been mentioned in various contexts, although its significance is primarily historical rather than scriptural. Some historical records suggest that individuals with the name Dorman may have been involved in religious institutions, such as monasteries or churches, potentially serving as gatekeepers or doorkeepers.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Dorman. One of the earliest was Thomas Dorman (c. 1533–1577), an English Catholic theologian and controversialist who wrote extensively against the Protestant Reformation. Another prominent individual was Robert Dorman (c. 1570–1616), an English poet and playwright who was part of the literary circle around William Shakespeare.
In the 18th century, Dorman Beauclerk (1718–1804) was a renowned English nobleman and patron of the arts, known for his support of literary figures like Samuel Johnson and Joshua Reynolds. Later, in the 19th century, Dorman Bridgman Eaton (1823–1899) was an American lawyer and civil service reformer who played a significant role in establishing the U.S. Civil Service Commission.
The name Dorman has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and sciences. For example, Dorman Steele (1908–1983) was an American illustrator and painter known for his works depicting the American West, while Dorman T. Warren (1899–1981) was a renowned American physicist and inventor who contributed to the development of radar technology during World War II.
While the name Dorman may have declined in popularity in recent times, its rich history and cultural significance remain a testament to its enduring legacy, spanning centuries and crossing various domains of human endeavor.
People
Dorman + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Dorman 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
Dorman: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Dorman?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 614 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Dorman 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 558,232 US residents.
Is Dorman a common name?
We classify Dorman as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,898 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Dorman most popular?
The single biggest year for Dorman was 1928, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Dorman is about 72 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Dorman in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 715 people with the name Dorman, or 0.24 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #15,935 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 Dorman 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 Dorman?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Dorman leans strongly male. 700 people counted with this name were male (97.8%), compared with 16 female bearers (2.2%). 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 Dorman?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Dorman is White at 86.0%. The next largest groups are Black (6.2%) and Hispanic (3.1%). 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 Dorman most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Dorman in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.0% (615 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 Dorman in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Dorman a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Dorman in the SSA data are male. 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 Dorman still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Dorman 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 Dorman 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 many Americans are named Dorman?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Dorman at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.