girl's name
Dolores
duh-LOR-iss
- Origin Spanish
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 225,193
Ireland
#991
2017 births
Dolores is a girl's name meaning sorrows — taken from a title of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Sorrows, which counts seven specific griefs. Our data marks it reviving after a 1930 peak.
- Dolores is a name of Spanish origin.
- Peaked in 1930, when 12,919 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
- Today about 1 in 48,757 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.
Dolores over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 144 |
| 1890s | 407 |
| 1900s | 1,468 |
| 1910s | 10,863 |
| 1920s | 52,300 |
| 1930s | 77,596 |
| 1940s | 33,330 |
| 1950s | 18,431 |
| 1960s | 9,709 |
| 1970s | 3,628 |
| 1980s | 2,141 |
| 1990s | 1,296 |
| 2000s | 687 |
| 2010s | 401 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 375 |
What Dolores means
Dolores means sorrows, in the plural. The Spanish word is taken from a Marian title rather than describing the child, so the name honors a devotion rather than predicting a life.
Where Dolores comes from
Dolores is the Spanish dolores, sorrows, clipped from María de los Dolores — Mary of the Sorrows. The devotion counts seven specific griefs in Mary's life, from Simeon's prophecy to the burial of Christ, and Spanish naming produced a whole family of names from Marian titles in the same way: Mercedes from mercies, Consuelo from consolation, Rosario from the rosary, Pilar from the pillar at Zaragoza. None of them describes the child. The pet form Lola comes from Dolores, which is why a cheerful name and a sorrowful one are the same word.
Dolores in use
Dolores peaked in the United States in 1930, when 12,919 babies were registered, and our data marks it reviving. It now ranks 2061st in England and Wales on 14 births, 2129th in France on 20 and 2570th in the United States on 68, across 225,193 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track. Its 1930 peak places it squarely in the 1920s and 30s band that holds more reviving names than any other era in our data.
How popular is Dolores?
In 2025, Dolores was given to 68 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Dolores is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Dolores is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Dolorès | Dolorès is a rare spelling of Dolores, written with a grave accent and recorded about 795 times, mostly in France. | 795 |
| Dolorés | Dolorés is a rare spelling of Dolores, written with an acute accent and recorded about 5 times, mostly in France. | 5 |
Names that peaked alongside Dolores
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dolores also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dolores over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
3 nicknames for Dolores
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Dolores in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
- Spanish
- Lola
Sibling names for Dolores
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dolores — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dolores
What does the name Dolores mean?
Sorrows — from the Marian title Our Lady of Sorrows, which counts seven specific griefs.
Is Lola short for Dolores?
Yes, which means a cheerful-sounding name and a sorrowful one are the same word.
Are there other names like it?
Spanish naming produced a whole family from Marian titles — Mercedes, Consuelo, Rosario and Pilar among them.
Is Dolores coming back?
Our data marks it reviving, after a 1930 peak of 12,919 births.
How popular is the name Dolores?
In 2025, Dolores was given to 68 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Is Dolores a girl's or a boy's name?
Dolores is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Dolores?
Dolores has 3 syllables.
When was Dolores most popular?
Dolores peaked in 1930, when 12,919 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Dolores?
Dolores is usually shortened to Lola, Dodie and Dolly.
Is Dolores a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dolores currently ranks #2,061 in the United States. After peaking in the 1930s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.