Dorothys

Dorothys refers to multiple people named Dorothy, or to a group of fictional or real individuals who share the given name. In modern English usage, the plural is usually formed as Dorothys, though in some historical or stylistic contexts Dorothies may appear. The term functions as a straightforward plural of a proper noun.

The given name Dorothy has its roots in the Greek Dorothea, meaning “gift of God.” It entered English via Latin and Old French adaptations and became common in the English-speaking world in the 19th and 20th centuries. The name has carried varying degrees of popularity across different regions and eras, often appearing in literature, film, and public life.

Usage of Dorothys typically occurs in reference to more than one person named Dorothy, such as genealogical lists, biographical compilations, or discussions of fictional characters who share the name. Because Dorothy is a common given name, many individuals who bear the name are known primarily by their surname, making the plural form especially useful in descriptive passages.

Notable people named Dorothy include Dorothy Parker, an American writer and critic; Dorothy Day, a social activist and co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement; Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician and computer programmer at NASA; Dorothy Hodgkin, a Nobel Prize-winning chemist; and Dorothy Height, a civil rights leader. In popular culture, Dorothy Gale is the heroine of The Wizard of Oz.

Dorothys thus functions as the standard plural form for the name in contemporary writing, used when referring to multiple individuals who share Dorothy as their given name.