Dorothy facts for kids

Dorothy is a girl's name that comes from ancient Greek. It means "God's Gift." The Greek word is Dōrothéa, which is made from dōron (meaning "gift") and theós (meaning "god").

Other names like Theodore and Theodora also come from the same Greek words. They just put the words in a different order!

Dorothy was a very popular name for girls in the United States for many years. Between 1904 and 1940, it was one of the top 10 most popular names for newborn girls. It stayed in the top 100 names until 1961. By 2006, it was less common, ranking 986th. In 2010, 235 baby girls in America were named Dorothy.

Famous People Named Dorothy

Many interesting people have been named Dorothy:

• Dorothy Dandridge was a talented American actress and singer.
• Dorothy Garrod was a British archaeologist. She studied ancient human history.
• Dorothy Gish was an American actress from the early days of movies.
• Dorothy Hamill is a famous American figure skater. She won an Olympic gold medal.
• Dorothy Hodgkin was a British biochemist. She won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on important molecules.
• Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger is an American astronaut. She has traveled to space!
• Dorothy Parker was an American poet and writer known for her witty words.
• Dorothy L. Sayers was an English writer. She wrote detective stories and other works.
• Dorothy Stang was a Catholic nun who worked to protect the rainforest and its people.
• Dorothy Sterling was an American writer, especially known for her children's books.
• Dorothy Wordsworth was the sister of the famous poet William Wordsworth. She was also a writer.
• Dorothy Bush Koch is the daughter of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush. She is also the sister of former President George W. Bush.

Dorothy in Stories and Movies

The name Dorothy is also famous in many fictional stories:

• Dorothy Catalonia is a character from the Gundam Wing anime series.
• Dorothy Gale is the main character in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. She is a little girl who gets swept away to the magical Land of Oz by a cyclone. She also appears in the classic 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz.
• Dorothy Michaels was a name used by a character in the 1982 comedy movie Tootsie.
• Dorothy Zbornak was a character played by Bea Arthur on the TV show The Golden Girls.
• R. Dorothy Wayneright is a female robot character in the anime series Big O.
• Dot Branning is a character from the British television show EastEnders.

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See also

In Spanish: Dorothy para niños