Dolly
Dolly is a given name and nickname, often a diminutive of the English personal names Dorothy and Dolores. Sometimes it is given to people surnamed "Gray", owing to the music hall song "Goodbye, Dolly Gray"; this particularly commonly occurs amongst sailors.
Meaning & Origin of Dolly
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Dolly is a given name and nickname, often a diminutive of the English personal names Dorothy and Dolores. Sometimes it is given to people surnamed "Gray", owing to the music hall song "Goodbye, Dolly Gray"; this particularly commonly occurs amongst sailors.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
The Story of Dolly
Dolly first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 21 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1926, when 395 Dollys were born — ranking #332 that year. As of 2026, Dolly ranks #1,463 for baby girls with 149 births, rising sharply (+116% over the past five years). In total, more than 21K Dollys have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Names that sound like Dolly
Phonetically similar names — useful when Dolly is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Dolly
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About the name Dolly
Dolly is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 21K births in the dataset. Dolly's peak popularity came in 1926 when it ranked #277. Use the chart and map above to compare Dolly's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1926 →
- Names of the 1920s →
- Names starting with "D" →
- Browse all girl names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.