Dolores

Spanish

"lady of sorrows"

Dolores Origin and Meaning

The name Dolores is a girl's name of Spanish origin meaning "lady of sorrows".

Though it's related to the Virgin Mary, this name was once perceived as the height of sensuality, a role since taken over by nicknames Lola and Lolita.

Dolores is one of the many titles given to the Virgin Mary — Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, or Our Lady of the Sorrows, and was one of the Spanish names that really caught on in this country — at one point in time, in 1930, Dolores was the 13th most popular girls' name in the US. But in the twenty-first century, you might prefer one of the other names derived from Mary's Spanish epithets — Mercedes, Soledad, Rosario or Luz.

Dolores does have some Harry Potter cred, via the witch Dolores Umbridge. Addison Timlin and Jeremy Allen White gave the name to their daughter in 2020.

Dolores Rank in US Top 1000

# 959 in the US

Dolores Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 595 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Dolores

• 595 Nameberry 2025

20 Names Similar to Dolores

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Dolores.

• Hilda
• Phyllis
• Doris
• Priscilla
• Velma
• Dora
• Wanda
• Dinah
• Prudence
• Augustine
• Geraldine
• Edna
• Ursula
• Portia
• Ethel
• Clarice
• Lucinda
• Judith
• Frida
• Joan

Famous People Named Dolores

• (Maria de los) Dolores Beatrix Carolina Blanca Leopoldina von Habsburg Lothringen, Archduchess of Austria; Princess of Tuscany
• Dolores Clara Fernandez Huerta American labor leader
• Dolores del Rio (born María de los Dolores Asúnsolo López Negrete), Mexican actress
• Dolores Costello American actress
• Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan Irish singer of rock band The Cranberries
• Dolores Hart American actress and nun
• Dolores Maria Agatha Wilhelmine Luise Guiness German socialite
• Dolores (born Kathleen Rose) American model and showgirl
• Dolores Keane Irish singer of folk group De Dannan
• Dolores Korman Sloviter U.S. federal judge
• (Isidora) Dolores Ibárruri (Gómez) Spanish revolutionary
• Maria de los Dolores Victoria Filippa Maria de las Mercedes Luisa Carlota Eugenia y Todos los Santos Princess of Bourbon,Two Sicilies, Princess Czartoryska

The name Dolores in Pop Culture

• Dolores "Lolita" Haze character in Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" (''she was Dolores on the dotted line'')
• "Dolores Claiborne " novel by Stephen King, film and main character
• Dolores Abernathy Evan Rachel Wood's character on HBO's "Westworld"
• Dolores character on TV's "The Worst Witch"
• Dolores Jane Umbridge character in the "Harry Potter" series
• Dolores character in an episode of "Seinfeld," whose name "rhymes with a part of the female anatomy"
• Dolores character in 1998 film "The Naked Man"
• Dolores Pasternak character on TV series "Two and a Half Men"
• Dolores Landringham character on TV series "The West Wing"
• Dolores Martin Chip "the Colonel" Martin's mother in "Looking for Alaska" by John Green
• Dolores Mendez character in G. A. Henty's "By England's Aid"
• Dolores Slingshot character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
• Dolores Theodora Marie Celeste character in Ellen Conford's "A Royal Pain"
• "Dolores" song by Frank Sinatra (famously covered by Bing Crosby) ("How I love the kisses of Dolores...")
• "Dolores" song by pop artist Gingkoa
• Dolores mannequin in the TV series "The Umbrella Academy"
• Dolores Madrigal character in Disney's film "Encanto"

International Variations of the name Dolores

• Dores Portuguese