Dulce
Dulce was the 771st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 352 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 264th with 1,285 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 108 places. More babies were named Dulce in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Meaning sweet (Spanish) · Spanish, Latin
Say it DOOL-say /ˈdulseɪ/
- Rank in 2025
- #771 girls, down 34 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 352girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20071,285 babies
- Total since 1880
- 20,355babies recorded
What does the name Dulce mean?
Dulce is the Spanish word for sweet, used as a girls' name, as Wiktionary notes. DMNES traces the medieval name through Old French dolz and douce to Latin dulcis, pleasant, sweet, kind or dear, and records a 12th-century queen of Portugal named Dulce. The Real Academia Española also derives dulce from Latin dulcis. Dulcie is an English form. Dulce has been used in the US since 1914.
dulcis (Latin, “sweet, pleasant, dear”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Dulcie, Dulcinea, Douce.
See also: Spanish names.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Dulce', DMNES (Durham University)
- Real Academia Española, Diccionario de la lengua española (23rd ed., online), entry 'dulce' (etymology), Real Academia Española / ASALE
- Wiktionary, entry 'Dulce' (Spanish section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Dulce popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 49 since 1989.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #771 | 352 |
| 2020 | #737 | 371 |
| 2010 | #410 | 768 |
| 2000 | #601 | 421 |
| 1990 | #912 | 210 |
| 1980 | #1,366 | 92 |
| 1970 | #4,570 | 12 |
| 1960 | #4,541 | 9 |
| 1950 | #3,753 | 9 |
| 1940 | — | — |
| 1930 | #4,168 | 6 |
| 1920 | — | — |
| 1910 | — | — |
| 1900 | — | — |
| 1890 | — | — |
| 1880 | — | — |
How popular is Dulce, counting every spelling?
Dulce has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #776 for girls in 2025, against #771 on the official list, because Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Jayleen/Jaylene/Jaelynn and Carly/Karlee/Carlee move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Dulce?
352 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Dulce (0.10 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Dulce 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 24 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Dulce.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Dulce?
About 20,000 people born in the US named Dulce are alive today, with a median age of 19; half are between 14 and 26. That makes Dulce mostly worn by children and young adults.
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.
Dulce by state
How common Dulce was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maryland (2.1×), California (1.9×), Texas (1.8×), Georgia (1.8×), New Jersey (1.7×). In 21 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 Dulce: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Dulce, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Dulce · Sibling names for Dulce
Questions about the name Dulce
What does Dulce mean?
Dulce means “sweet (Spanish)” (Spanish, Latin origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Dulce?
Dulce was the 771st most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 352 babies. Its best year was 2007, when it ranked 264th with 1,285 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 108 places. More babies were named Dulce in the 2000s than in any other decade.
Is Dulce a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Dulce in the US.
Where is Dulce most popular?
In 2021–2025, Dulce was most common in Maryland (0.48 per 1,000 girls), followed by California and Texas.