Dorothy?

[RavenclawWriter]

DH says he loves the name Dorothy after his grandmother, who practically raised him. I like it but I wonder if it's too old fashioned. I like Dorothea for the nicknames Dora and Thea but that's even more old fashioned. Thoughts?

Our thoughts don't matter a bit. It's what YOU want that matters.

Your DH might love the name but if you don't, then I wouldn't go there.

I think it's a lovely name.

I don't think it's old fashioned. Been around a long time, fell out of fashion but 'vintage' names are popular now eg Florence, Edith, Daisy etc. I like Dorothy and also the nickname dolly. And it's got a nice meaning for your DH.

I love it but dh vetoed it as he said it was too much of a nun's name

Everyone will want to be a friend of Dorothy.
Go for it.

Ooh glad there's a lot of people who like it! Is Dorothea too much? Or can I still use the nicknames Dora and Thea with Dorothy?

Like the name. Dot for nickname

I'd call her Dotty as her nickname. It's really cute Dorothy.

I really like Dorothea. Plus, it would still honour your DH's granny.

I love Dorothy! And I love Dora (and all - ora names I'm fact! Flora/Cora/Laura)

My headmistress's first name. I think it's due a comeback and has great nickname options.

I don't like it. There's a kid nearby called Dorothy. Very old fashioned and not in a good way like Elizabeth or Isabella.

Personally I love both the names you mentioned. You also have the option of Dotty and Doro as nicknames.

In a world full of little Arthurs, Elsies and Florences, how can Dorothy be 'too old-fashioned'? It's much nicer than any of the above, IMO. Surprised it's not more popular actually. Nice sound, nice meaning ('gift of God', isn't it?) Also like the 'Wizard of Oz' association.

I also like Dorothea. The association I get from that is the character in 'Middlemarch', so that's good too.

How about Theodora?

I like it! Far prefer it to Dorothea which I think is a bit of a mouthful and, this is just me, but I don't really like some names which end in an ee-ah sound like Dorothea and Lucia (Loo-chee-ah) as they remind me of the words diarrhoea and gonnorhoea. I do really like Thea on its own though and also Dora which could both be nns for Dorothea.

I really don't like it. My nan tried to make me call my child that if I had a DD.
Thank goodness I had boys so a family crisis was averted!

My friend Dorothy hates her name.

I like it and I don't usually like 'old' names.

My DB's cat is called Dorothy. She gets called Dot, Dotty, Doz, Dozzer...

Dotty is a lovely nickname for a little girl and Dora is lovely too.

It's my mum's name and she loathes it. She made us all promise never to saddle her granddaughters with it, even as a middle.

Must admit, I don't think it's nice. At all.

Prefer Dorothy over Dorothea.

I don't think Thea would work for just Dorothy, perhaps at a push, but there is Dora, Dory, Dodie, Dot, Dotty/Dottie, Doe, Dodo, Dee, Roth, Roe, Thee

As an alternative, seeing as you like Dora and Thea, i love the name Tora!

I like it, it might be due a revival, vintage names are really popular at the minute. Prefer Dorothy to Dorathea, my nan is Dorothy and she goes by Dot or Dotty.

one of my grans was Dorothy and I love it - there are so many possible nicknames etc

It's my middle name (I'm 50) and as a child I hated it. This was because all my friends had much more modern names and I felt the odd one out. It's also my mother's name, and she's always been called Dot! Which she hates!!

However, as I've got older I like it a little more. There are a lot of older names coming back into fashion so perhaps Dorothy deserves a resurgence too.