COMPILED FROM THE FEDERAL REGISTERS, 1880 TO THE PRESENT
THE ENDANGERED NAMES LIST
American first names, tracked to the federal reporting line.

FROM THE REGISTER — THE VANISHED

Dortha
A female given name · United States

BELOW THE FEDERAL REPORTING LINE SINCE 1985 — 41 YEARS

Dortha (F): reported births per year080160240320400188019001920194019601980200020202025FEDERAL REPORTING LINE (5)PEAK 295 — 1921
Reported births per year, 1880–2025. The y-axis starts at zero. Years below the reporting line appear as gaps, not zeros.

Dorothy by way of the ear rather than the book. Dortha was reported above the federal line from 1889 to 1984, peaking at 295 births in 1921 — 6,811 recorded in all. It has not appeared in the register since: 41 years below the line, and counting.

REGISTER EXTRACT
First reported1889
Last reported1984
Peak1921 — 295 births
Total recorded, 1889–20256,811
Years above the line88 of a possible 137
Longest absence41 years (1985–2025, ongoing)

Nearby in the register

Doctor

The Vanished · 1880–1951 · peak 1920

Orange

The Vanished · 1881–1971 · peak 1920

Hortense

The Vanished · 1880–1976 · peak 1919

Bulah

The Vanished · 1880–1963 · peak 1919

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national names file (1880–2025). Names below 5 occurrences in a year are not reported.

Somewhere, a grandmother is unsurprised.

A collection of THE MUSEUM OF HOPEFUL MACHINES