Dot
Feminine · “Greek doron and theos”
Dot is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 1,370 girls against 22 boys since 1880.
Dorothy and Theodore are the same two words in opposite order. Greek doron is a gift and theos is God, so Dorothea is gift of God and Theodora is God's gift. The pair is exact, and Greek does the same trick Hebrew does with Isaiah and Joshua: one meaning, two names, and almost nobody notices.
How old is the name Dot?
Dot first appears in US birth records in 1883 — 142 years ago. The typical Dot alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 400 people named Dot are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Dot most popular?
Dot peaked in 1888, reaching #724 nationally. Today it ranks #8860, 8,136 places below that high. See the whole 1888 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Dorothea to Dot
The story of Dot
Element reversal is a feature of both Greek and Hebrew naming and it produces pairs that look unrelated. In Greek, Dorothea and Theodora are gift-of-God twice; Philotheos and Theophilos are both lover-of-God, and the second gives Theophilus, addressed at the start of Luke and Acts. In Hebrew, Isaiah and Joshua both mean Yah is salvation; Jonathan and Nathaniel both mean God has given; Elazar and Azariah both mean God has helped. In each case the two names entered European use separately, by different routes and at different dates, and speakers treat them as distinct. That is a reasonable thing to do, since a name's history is not only its etymology. But the underlying identity is worth knowing, and it means that a family who like one meaning have twice as many names to choose from as they thought.
Meaning
Greek doron and theos, gift and God
Dot is a short form of Dorothy, from Greek Dorothea, from doron, a gift, and theos, God. Theodora reverses the elements and means the same thing. The d of Dot rather than a form beginning Dor- is a product of English nickname formation, which alters consonants freely. It peaks in the American data in 1888.
How the name formed
- Dorothea
- Dorothy
- Dot
Related forms: Dottie · Dorothea
Pronouncing Dot
dot
One syllable, short o, identical to the English word. There is no competing reading.
Nicknames for Dot
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1883
- Most girls named
- 193546 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #724reached in 1888
- Change vs 2023
- +120.0%11 in 2025, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Dot in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Dottie in English — related form
- Dorothea in Greek — related form
Dots among us
people named Dot are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 146,115 born in 2025 was named Dot
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Dot sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Dot beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Dot in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The Greek meaning is settled and entirely positive.
- Dorothy is available as a full formal version.
- One syllable, plain and easy to say.
- It is an ordinary English noun.
- It reads as a nickname rather than a full name.
- The name is strongly associated with the late nineteenth century.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Dot to the vote.
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What they receive
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Dot
Feminine · #8860 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Dots are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 400 people named Dot are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Dot in 2025?
- Dot ranks #8860 among US girl names in 2025, with 11 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Dot?
- About 1 in every 146,115 US girls born in 2025 was named Dot — 11 in all.
- Will my child share the name Dot with classmates?
- Dot will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Dot
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Lida#8860 · Lauretta#8860 · Bonita#8860 · Benita#8860 · Trixie#8860 · Adna#8860 · Velia#8860 · Sue#8860
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Dot? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Dot and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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