Dory - Name Meaning and Popularity -

Meaning of Dory

Dory is an unisex appellation of Hellenic origin that emerged as a diminutive of names containing the Greek root -doron—exemplified by Dorothy and Theodore—and thus conveys the etymological notion of “gift”; its classical heritage further includes an allusion to the mythological maritime region of Doris, conferring a subtle seaborne association. Rendered uniformly in British and American English as DOHR-ee (/ˈdɔːri/ or /ˈdɔri/), the name has been sporadically recorded in United States Social Security Administration data since the mid-twentieth century, achieving ten occurrences and a rank of 940 in 2024, a distribution that underscores its sustained unisex viability and phonological economy. Moreover, its technical clarity and cultural penetration—augmented by its association with a prominent animated piscine character—have solidified Dory’s status as a versatile choice within contemporary Anglo-American naming conventions.