Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 1926

Dolly

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,781 Trend ↑ Rising 126%

A diminutive of the female given names Dorothy, Dolores, and Doris.

Rank 2025
#1,781
among girls · ↓149 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
113
named Dolly · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 14,224
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1926
395 babies
All-time total
20,636
#1,048 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Dolly popularity over time

20,636 babies have been named Dolly since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 402 – 402 40 – #277
1890s 600 – 600 60 +49% #338
1900s 986 – 986 99 +64% #316
1910s 2,415 5 2,420 242 +145% #331
1920s 3,663 16 3,679 368 +52% #329
1930s 3,192 18 3,210 321 -13% #331
1940s 2,543 – 2,543 254 -21% #416
1950s 2,417 5 2,422 242 -5% #497
1960s 1,464 – 1,464 146 -40% #756
1970s 940 – 940 94 -36% #959
1980s 527 – 527 53 -44% #1,612
1990s 313 – 313 31 -41% #2,459
2000s 164 – 164 16 -48% #6,283
2010s 336 – 336 34 +105% #3,015
2020s (to 2025) 630 – 630 105 +213% #1,617

Where Dolly is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 128 0.08 outside top 500
2027 143 0.09 outside top 500
2028 157 0.10 outside top 500
2029 170 0.11 outside top 500
2030 182 0.11 outside top 500

Where Dolly is most popular

Girls named Dolly per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.070 per 1,000. Strongest in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Ohio.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Dolly born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Mississippi 10 0.214 +205%
Tennessee 32 0.202 +188%
Ohio 24 0.101 +44%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 ≈ national
California 56 0.067 -5%
Georgia 15 0.066 -6%
Utah 5 0.060 -14%
Kentucky 5 0.058 -17%
Texas 47 0.058 -17%
North Carolina 13 0.057 -19%
Indiana 6 0.043 -39%
Missouri 5 0.041 -41%
Virginia 6 0.035 -50%
Washington 5 0.035 -51%
Florida 14 0.033 -53%
Michigan 5 0.027 -61%
Illinois 5 0.022 -69%
New York 5 0.013 -82%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Dolly

Dolly is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #1,781 in 2025 with 113 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 20,636 American babies have been named Dolly. Its peak came in 1926, when 395 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Dolly stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Dolly?

The median living Dolly is about 67 years old; half are between 49 and 78. An estimated 8,800 people named Dolly are alive in the United States today.

median 67 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Dolly year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 113 #1,781 – –
2024 127 #1,632 – –
2023 129 #1,617 – –
2022 113 #1,807 – –
2021 87 #2,157 – –
2020 61 #2,727 – –
2019 54 #3,015 – –
2018 53 #3,064 – –
2017 49 #3,259 – –
2016 42 #3,664 – –
2015 30 #4,625 – –
2014 23 #5,669 – –
2013 26 #5,181 – –
2012 20 #6,408 – –
2011 13 #8,767 – –
2010 26 #5,285 – –
2009 19 #6,885 – –
2008 18 #7,157 – –
2007 17 #7,483 – –
2006 19 #6,660 – –
2005 18 #6,617 – –
2004 15 #7,507 – –
2003 10 #9,871 – –
2002 16 #6,797 – –
2001 15 #7,062 – –
2000 17 #6,283 – –
1995 27 #3,908 – –
1990 41 #2,817 – –
1985 48 #2,183 – –
1980 72 #1,612 – –
1975 92 #1,242 – –
1970 115 #1,061 – –
1965 155 #793 – –
1960 183 #756 – –
1955 239 #597 5 #4,007
1950 262 #497 – –
1945 221 #485 – –
1940 271 #416 – –
1935 335 #349 – –
1930 387 #331 5 #4,140
1925 388 #341 – –
1920 348 #352 – –
1915 287 #352 – –
1910 133 #343 – –
1905 102 #334 – –
1900 94 #341 – –
1895 70 #343 – –
1890 57 #338 – –
1885 44 #303 – –
1880 21 #355 – –

Famous people named Dolly

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Dolly Parton Dolly Parton American singer-songwriter (1946–2026) Contemporary
  2. 2 Dolly Buster Dolly Buster Czech-German pornographic actress b. 1969 · Contemporary
  3. 3 Dolly Pentreath Dolly Pentreath Last known native speaker of Cornish (1692–1777) 17th century
  4. 4 Dolly Haas Dolly Haas German actress (1910–1994) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Dolly, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Dolly?

The median living Dolly is about 67 years old. Half of all living Dollys are between 49 and 78 years old.

How many people named Dolly are alive today?

An estimated 8,800 people named Dolly are alive in the United States, based on 20,636 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Dolly mean?

A diminutive of the female given names Dorothy, Dolores, and Doris.

How popular is the name Dolly in 2025?

Dolly ranked #1,781 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 113 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Dolly?

20,636 babies have been named Dolly in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Dolly most popular?

Dolly peaked in 1926, when 395 newborns received the name.

Is Dolly a boy or girl name?

Dolly is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Dolly rising or falling?

Dolly is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Dolly become more popular?

Dolly is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 182 girls named Dolly in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Dolly?

Well-known people named Dolly include Dolly Parton (singer), Dolly Buster (politician), Dolly Pentreath (religious figure).

Names like Dolly

Names that sound and feel close to Dolly: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Dolly with similar names → More names starting with D →