How to Get Your Nickname: Dori

This is actually the nickname that inspired this series. I think the nickname Dori is adorable. It reminds me of the loveable Ellen DeGeneres character in Finding Nemo. It also reminds me of Dora the Explorer. In fact, pretty much any name that you can get the nickname Dori from also yields Dora. If I was spelling Dori for the birth certificate I might go with the slightly more substantial Dorrie, plus I am loving "ie" these days.

I am not sure if there is ONE name that is "traditionally" linked to Dori.  A quick Google search indicates it is for Doris or Dorothy. (One site even said that it is short for Dora, which just makes NO sense at all). Here is what I came up with.

Dorothy - Your not in Kansas anymore! This name has some serious old school charm. I actually slightly prefer the variation Dorothea, which is the name of a great character in the book Middlemarch. It means "gift from god"- that is the same "thea" that you would find in words like theocracy or theology.

Theodora - Theodora hasn't been in the top 1000 names since 1954, but the masculine version, Theodore, has always been in the top 1000, though not above 100 since 1944. Theodore has shown some growth in popularity recently, I think largely because it yields the nickname Ted or Teddy. Anyways, Theodora is an anagram for Dorothea, and in fact is the exact same roots. (I have seen the recommendation that Theodore and Dorothea would make good twin names for this reason). While Dorothea is "gift from god", Theodora is simply "god's gift".

Isodora - A recent discovery for me! While this name has never cracked the top 1000, it still seems familiar, and a possible variation on the recent hit name Isabella. The name means "gift of Isis", an Egyptian god.

Nymphadora - Yes. Yes I did get this name out of Harry Potter. In fact, it is possible, that it is also this name that made me wonder "hey, how else could you get the nickname Dori? Because I like Dori but don't want Nymph in my daughters name...".  The character named Nymphadora hates the name. I do think it is beautiful, and maybe playful to the right ear. It means "gift of the nymphs". Sensing a theme here? Per Wikipedia, a Nymph is a minor greek nature deity.


Pandora - I love the sound of this name, and the meaning - "all gifts".  However, it has some strong associations that go along with it - the most obvious of which is the Eve-like story in which Pandora, as the first woman, releases evil on the world through her curiosity by opening a box. Due to this bit of mythology, the name gets used a lot in Science Fiction and Fantasy (for example, it is the name of planet in the uber-popular Avatar movie). But, after all, the name Eve still gets used despite the namesake, so I think the name is worth considering.

Dorianne - I am having some difficulty finding the roots or meaning of this name. In fact, a lot of sights do not recognize it at all. I think it probably would be considered a feminized version of the male 'Dorian' (a boys name I quite like). Dorian refers to a Greek region, literally meaning "descended from Doris". However, the name could also be concieved as a joining of Dori and Anne, in which case the meaning would be Gift of Grace... quite beautiful. And it has that "double barrel first name" feel some people really love. (The more common Dorris is also a female version of Dorian, and does indeed mean Descended from Doris).

Doreen - Another name whose roots are a bit hard to trace. Some sites say this just means Gift of God again, or is just a variation of Dora, but it also may be Irish/Gaelic origins, in which case it would actually mean "brooding". Possible spellings abound - Dorine, Doryne, etc.

I can't hit them all! A handful of other, a bit more exotic options:
Amadora (Italian, gift of love),
Salvadora (Spanish, Savior),
Pheodora/Fedora (A hat... but also, the Russian version of Theodora),
Madora (Greek, version of Medea, means "ruling"), 
Eudora (Good Gift, Greek)

So, do you like the name Dorrie/Dori? Do you like any of the longer versions? I think Isadora is my favorite.