Dorothea f
English, German, and Dutch: Latinate form of a post-classical Greek name composed of the elements dōron gift + theos god (the same elements as in THEODORA (SEE Theodora), but in reverse order). The masculine form Dōrotheus (see DOROFEI (SEE Dorofei)) was borne by several early Christian saints, the feminine only by two minor ones, but in Western Europe today it only survives as a female name. In modern use in the English-speaking world it represents a 19th-century Latinization of DOROTHY (SEE Dorothy), or a learned reborrowing.
Cognates: Danish: Dorete, Dort(h)e. Polish, Czech: Dorota. Hungarian: Dorottya.
First names dictionary. 2012.