At a glance
- U.S. rank 2025
- #770 of girl names
- Babies in 2025
- 352 (0.020% of girls)
- Trend
- Steady #737 in 2020 to #770 in 2025
- Peak
- #264 in 2007
- First recorded
- 1914
Meaning of Dulce
Dulce zips onto the tongue like a spoonful of warm dulce de leche—swift, sweet, unforgettable. The name grew in the sun-kissed lands where Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian speakers still roll it out as DOOL-seh, DUL-see, or DOOL-cheh, all tracing back to the Latin word dulcis, “sweet.” Legend paints her as the heroine of a town-square tale: a baker’s daughter who could turn sugar into songs, a modern-day Dulcinea with flour on her cheeks and dreams in her apron. Because of that honeyed meaning, parents link Dulce to kindness, devotion (think of Marian favorite “Dulce María”), and desserts that make abuelas smile. She first tiptoed onto U.S. charts in the 1930s, then sprinted upward around the new millennium, proving that sweetness never goes out of style. Dulce is for a girl who laughs like maracas, hugs like hot chocolate, and reminds everyone that life—at its best—tastes just a little sugary.
How to pronounce Dulce
Italian
- Pronounced DOOL-cheh /ˈdultʃe/
Spanish
- Pronounced DOOL-seh /ˈdulse/
Portuguese
- Pronounced DUL-see /ˈduɫ.si/
Popularity of Dulce in the U.S.
Dulce was the #770 girl name in the U.S. in 2025, with 352 babies. It peaked at #264 in 2007 and has been in the top 1,000 since 1990. It first appears in the records in 1914.
- Rank among U.S. girl names (right scale, #1 at the top)
Year-by-year table, 1914–2025 89 rows
| Year | Babies | Rank | vs previous year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 352 | 770 | ▼ 106 |
| 2024 | 438 | 664 | ▲ 109 |
| 2023 | 364 | 773 | ▲ 10 |
| 2022 | 363 | 783 | ▲ 54 |
| 2021 | 329 | 837 | ▼ 100 |
| 2020 | 371 | 737 | ▲ 141 |
| 2019 | 306 | 878 | ▲ 37 |
| 2018 | 293 | 915 | ▼ 145 |
| 2017 | 360 | 770 | ▼ 20 |
| 2016 | 380 | 750 | ▼ 87 |
| 2015 | 430 | 663 | ▲ 1 |
| 2014 | 431 | 664 | ▼ 103 |
| 2013 | 521 | 561 | ▲ 14 |
| 2012 | 509 | 575 | ▼ 159 |
| 2011 | 762 | 416 | ▼ 6 |
| 2010 | 768 | 410 | ▼ 64 |
| 2009 | 943 | 346 | ▼ 41 |
| 2008 | 1,095 | 305 | ▼ 41 |
| 2007 | 1,285 | 264 | ▲ 5 |
| 2006 | 1,221 | 269 | ▲ 115 |
| 2005 | 815 | 384 | ▲ 76 |
| 2004 | 650 | 460 | ▲ 30 |
| 2003 | 593 | 490 | ▲ 3 |
| 2002 | 564 | 493 | ▼ 67 |
| 2001 | 659 | 426 | ▲ 174 |
| 2000 | 421 | 600 | ▲ 118 |
| 1999 | 316 | 718 | ▼ 25 |
| 1998 | 327 | 693 | ▼ 25 |
| 1997 | 326 | 668 | ▲ 10 |
| 1996 | 322 | 678 | ▲ 22 |
| 1995 | 301 | 700 | ▼ 111 |
| 1994 | 384 | 589 | ▲ 29 |
| 1993 | 369 | 618 | ▲ 31 |
| 1992 | 345 | 649 | ▼ 16 |
| 1991 | 354 | 633 | ▲ 278 |
| 1990 | 210 | 911 | ▲ 226 |
| 1989 | 145 | 1,137 | ▲ 124 |
| 1988 | 116 | 1,261 | ▼ 99 |
| 1987 | 126 | 1,162 | ▲ 48 |
| 1986 | 115 | 1,210 | ▼ 114 |
| 1985 | 132 | 1,096 | ▲ 61 |
| 1984 | 117 | 1,157 | ▼ 43 |
| 1983 | 121 | 1,114 | ▲ 303 |
| 1982 | 86 | 1,417 | ▼ 123 |
| 1981 | 98 | 1,294 | ▲ 69 |
| 1980 | 92 | 1,363 | ▲ 79 |
| 1979 | 84 | 1,442 | ▲ 608 |
| 1978 | 46 | 2,050 | ▲ 413 |
| 1977 | 35 | 2,463 | ▼ 403 |
| 1976 | 42 | 2,060 | ▲ 751 |
| 1975 | 26 | 2,811 | ▼ 521 |
| 1974 | 34 | 2,290 | ▲ 1,681 |
| 1973 | 15 | 3,971 | ▼ 1,660 |
| 1972 | 32 | 2,311 | ▲ 490 |
| 1971 | 25 | 2,801 | ▲ 1,691 |
| 1970 | 12 | 4,492 | ▼ 1,390 |
| 1969 | 19 | 3,102 | ▼ 620 |
| 1968 | 25 | 2,482 | ▲ 386 |
| 1967 | 19 | 2,868 | ▲ 532 |
| 1966 | 14 | 3,400 | ▲ 149 |
| 1965 | 13 | 3,549 | ▼ 634 |
| 1964 | 19 | 2,915 | ▲ 1,104 |
| 1963 | 11 | 4,019 | ▼ 237 |
| 1962 | 12 | 3,782 | ▼ 322 |
| 1961 | 14 | 3,460 | ▲ 977 |
| 1960 | 9 | 4,437 | ▼ 406 |
| 1959 | 10 | 4,031 | ▲ 489 |
| 1958 | 8 | 4,520 | ▲ 398 |
| 1957 | 7 | 4,918 | ▼ 1,597 |
| 1956 | 13 | 3,321 | ▲ 1,055 |
| 1955 | 8 | 4,376 | ▼ 1,219 |
| 1954 | 13 | 3,157 | ▼ 51 |
| 1953 | 13 | 3,106 | ▲ 266 |
| 1952 | 11 | 3,372 | ▲ 2,042 |
| 1951 | 5 | 5,414 | ▼ 1,752 |
| 1950 | 9 | 3,662 | ▼ 269 |
| 1949 | 10 | 3,393 | ▲ 490 |
| 1948 | 8 | 3,883 | ▲ 1,412 |
| 1947 | 5 | 5,295 | back (not recorded in 1939–1946) |
| 1938 | 5 | 4,342 | back (not recorded in 1932–1937) |
| 1931 | 5 | 4,331 | ▼ 284 |
| 1930 | 6 | 4,047 | back (not recorded in 1927–1929) |
| 1926 | 5 | 4,851 | ▲ 122 |
| 1925 | 5 | 4,973 | back (not recorded in 1920–1924) |
| 1919 | 5 | 4,814 | ▼ 945 |
| 1918 | 7 | 3,869 | back (not recorded in 1917) |
| 1916 | 6 | 3,919 | ▼ 124 |
| 1915 | 6 | 3,795 | ▼ 177 |
| 1914 | 5 | 3,618 | new |
Dulce by state
Dulce ranks #422 in New Jersey (2025).
Rank by state 17 states
| State | Rank | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| New Jersey | 422 | 18 |
| Maryland | 459 | 11 |
| Texas | 511 | 62 |
| California | 516 | 64 |
| Florida | 598 | 29 |
| Georgia | 645 | 16 |
| Arizona | 676 | 9 |
| Washington | 679 | 9 |
| North Carolina | 684 | 14 |
| Oklahoma | 697 | 5 |
| Tennessee | 748 | 9 |
| Illinois | 797 | 11 |
| Minnesota | 835 | 5 |
| Virginia | 843 | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 873 | 5 |
| Colorado | 907 | 5 |
| New York | 1,087 | 13 |
Notable people named Dulce
- Dulce María is a Mexican singer and actress.
- Dulce Gardenia is a Mexican CMLL luchador who portrays an effeminate exótico character, honoring Dizzy Gardenia.
- Dulce Pontes is a Portuguese world music singer-songwriter who helped revive fado in the 1990s through her diverse styles.
- Dulce Ann Hofer-Santos is a Filipina educator and politician from Zamboanga Sibugay, serving as its governor since 2022.
- Dulce Chacón was a celebrated Spanish author known for her poetry, novels, and plays.
- Dulcé Lazaria Sloan is an American stand-up comedian and actress who was a senior correspondent on The Daily Show.