Doll

UnisexGirls' nameBoys' name

Mad, foolish

Doll has been given to 387 babies in the U.S. since 1895. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1916, with 14 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 94% girls, 6% boys all-time.

Babies named Doll, 1968

1 in 563,000

Doll over time, 1880–2025

GirlsBoys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Doll over time

In 1968, Doll went to 100% girls and 0% boys.

18931968

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Doll: meaning, origin, and history

Mad, foolish

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Doll means

Doll means “mad, foolish”, associated with toll.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

* As a south German surname, from toll (“mad, foolish”). * Also as a German surname, spelling variant of Thiel. * As an English surname, from the adjective dull, cognate with the first German derivation. Also compare Dill.

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Doll (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Doll is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Dorothy and Thiel.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 363 girls were recorded with the name Doll between 1895 and 1968. Its highest annual count was 14 in 1916; its best national rank was #1,109 in 1905.

In the United States, 24 boys were recorded with the name Doll between 1893 and 1922. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1902; its best national rank was #951 in 1902.

How common is Doll?

Doll had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1968, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1968: 1 in 563,000; 6 of 3,378,301 births
Among girls only: 1 in 273,000; <0.01% of girls
Rank, 1968: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 390,278 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Doll sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Olivia (13,544)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1968 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 390,278 children born in 1968 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Doll. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Dolls were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Doll was born before 1922 — so the typical Doll is around 103 today.

Median birth year: 1922; About 103 years old
Biggest decade: 1910s; 26.2% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 20.9%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 63; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1910s — 26.2% of all recorded uses (95).

Is Doll rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1916 (14)
Years since peak: 109; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Volatile; 42.7% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,109; 1905

Spellings of Doll

Doll is not the most common spelling — Jill is, with 18.1% against Doll's 0.03%.

Jill18.1%208,071
Holly17.8%205,304
Molly15.3%176,127
Dora9.2%105,930
Lola8.4%96,892
Della6.2%70,810
Polly2.6%29,684
Ola2.6%29,651

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Doll by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,109; 1905
Peak year: 1916; 14 that year
First recorded: 1895
Last recorded: 1968
All-time count: 363
Count in 2025: Under 5

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #951; 1902
Peak year: 1902; 7 that year
First recorded: 1893
Last recorded: 1922
All-time count: 24
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Doll

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Dola Dolce Dollye Doloras Dolora Dolly Dollene Dolorez Doloros Doloris Caroll Dolline Dollie Nicholl Nicoll Dolories Dolli Dolena Dollinda Dolphine Dollicia Dolley Dolres Dolene

Sibling names for Doll

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Era Leatha Leone Artie Alpha Hettie Cecil Ona

For a brother

Winfield Isadore Aloysius Hyman Regis Sydney Meyer Gustave

Explore around Doll

Top names of 1916, Doll's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1905 Girls' names starting with D