Dorcas

Meaning & origin●

Attested in 1 language in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Dorcas is also recorded as 3 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name101K records spelled Dorcas8 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Nigeria, United Kingdom, South Africa

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Dọrcas, Dorcàs

• Portuguese given name39K records spelled Dorcas4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Brazil, Peru, United States, Mexico

  Languages: Portuguese, Spanish

  Also written Dörcās, Dórcas

• Amharic given name625 records spelled Dorcas2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Nigeria, South Africa, United States

  Also written ዶርቃ

64 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Dorcas is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Greek, 'gazelle'

  as a name·Baby names, 25,350 baby names nicknames for your family, friends pets, including the top 100 names, 2,000 most popular…

• Domiciana, Domitia, Domitiana, Gacela

  as a name·25,000 nombres de bebé. La mejor guía para escoger el nombre adecuado

• In Portuguese, Dorcas (woman restored to life by Peter)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In Latin, An antelope or gazelle.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In grc, Griego Δορκάς, "gacela"; corresponde al arameo Tabita.

  as a name·Diccionario etimológico de nombres propios

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Dorcas Hoarb. 1634Salem witch trial accusee
• Dorcas Mumfordb. 1750US(1750-1801)
• Catherine Stricklandb. 1825GBnot in their usual nameBritish naturalist and illustrator (1825-1888)
• Dorcas Matthewsb. 1890USEnglish actress (1890–1969)
• Dorcas Cochranb. 1903USAmerican screenwriter and lyricist
• Dorcas Coker-Appiahb. 1946GHGhanaian lawyer
• Dorcas Makgato-Malesub. 1953BWBotswana politician
• Dorcas Muthonib. 1979KEKenyan computer engineer and businesswoman
• Dorcas Shola Fapsonb. 1991GBNigerian actress
• Dorcas Ajoke Adesokanb. 1998NGbadminton player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 376 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Dorcas?

We estimate roughly 7.1 thousand people bear Dorcas (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Dorcas have the most bearers?

Dorcas is most frequently recorded in Kenya, where it is most often spelled dorcas.

How common is Dorcas compared with other names?

In Kenya, Dorcas is the 80th most common given name of 51,773 given names recorded there.

Is Dorcas a male or female name?

Dorcas is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Dorcas mean?

Recorded meaning: A woman who is said, in the Bible, to have been restored to life by Peter.