Dolores
Dolores was the 2567th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 68 babies. Its best year was 1930, when it ranked 13th with 12,842 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,756 places. More babies were named Dolores in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Meaning sorrows (Our Lady of Sorrows) · Spanish, Latin
Say it duh-LOR-iss /dəˈlɔɹɪs/
- Rank in 2025
- #2,567 girls, up 369 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 68girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 193012,842 babies
- Total since 1880
- 212,776babies recorded
What does the name Dolores mean?
Dolores comes from the Spanish title of the Virgin Mary, María de los Dolores, 'Mary of the Sorrows', referring to the seven sorrows of Mary; Spanish dolor 'pain, sorrow' comes from Latin dolor. As Wiktionary notes, it was borrowed from Spanish. Like Mercedes and Araceli it began as part of a Marian title. It was common in the US in the 1920s and 1930s.
dolores (Spanish, “sorrows, pains”)dolor (Latin, “pain, sorrow”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Pronunciation: Spanish: doh-LOH-res.
Related names: Lola, Lolita, Delores, Dolly.
See also: Spanish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Dolores', Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'dolor' (Spanish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
Nicknames for Dolores
The usual nicknames for Dolores are Lola, Dolly and Lolita. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Dolores in the last five years, 1838 were named Lola, against 670 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lola · Lola began as a Spanish pet form of Dolores · also for Lorelai, Lorelei | Traditional | #275 | 5,881 |
| Dolly · also for Dorothy | Traditional | #1,781 | 569 |
| Lolita | Traditional | #10,564 | 52 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Doloress go by each one.
Dolores popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 1,336 since 1912.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #2,567 | 68 |
| 2020 | #2,936 | 55 |
| 2010 | #4,422 | 33 |
| 2000 | #1,926 | 88 |
| 1990 | #1,038 | 173 |
| 1980 | #655 | 279 |
| 1970 | #407 | 563 |
| 1960 | #232 | 1,366 |
| 1950 | #139 | 2,226 |
| 1940 | #67 | 3,604 |
| 1930 | #13 | 12,842 |
| 1920 | #110 | 2,365 |
| 1910 | #220 | 294 |
| 1900 | #353 | 91 |
| 1890 | #572 | 21 |
| 1880 | #475 | 13 |
How popular is Dolores, counting every spelling?
Dolores is the most common spelling of a name family that had 89 girls in 2025 across its spellings. Together these spellings went to 89 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dolores | 68 | #2,567 | 320 |
| Delores | 21 | #5,771 | 87 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Dolores?
68 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Dolores (0.02 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Dolores born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 123 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Dolores.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Dolores?
About 64,500 people born in the US named Dolores are alive today, with a median age of 77; half are between 66 and 86. That makes Dolores a name most people associate with older generations.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Dolores by state
How common Dolores was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in California (2.2×). In 46 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Dolores: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Dolores, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Dolores · Sibling names for Dolores
Questions about the name Dolores
What does Dolores mean?
Dolores means “sorrows (Our Lady of Sorrows)” (Spanish, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Dolores?
Dolores was the 2567th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 68 babies. Its best year was 1930, when it ranked 13th with 12,842 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved up 1,756 places. More babies were named Dolores in the 1930s than in any other decade.
Is Dolores a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Dolores in the US.
Where is Dolores most popular?
In 2021–2025, Dolores was most common in California (0.09 per 1,000 girls), followed by Texas and Florida.