Recent in Baby
When Baby Resists SolidsWhen Baby Resists SolidsBaby Biting TipsBaby Biting Tips5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair Injuries5 Tips To Help Prevent Highchair InjuriesWhen Baby and Pet MeetWhen Baby and Pet MeetTreatments for ColicTreatments for ColicBaby Milestones – The First YearBaby Milestones – The First YearTips for Relieving Teething PainTips for Relieving Teething PainBenefits of Making Your Own Baby FoodBenefits of Making Your Own Baby Food

Home › Baby Names Directory › Doctor

Doctor

♂ Boy

How to Pronounce Doctor

Pronounced DOK-tur /ˈdɒk.tər/Medium

Meaning: Doctor is the familiar English word and title used, honestly and warmly, as a given name. It comes from the Latin 'doctor', meaning a teacher or learned person (from 'docere', to teach). As a name it belongs to a real, if uncommon, tradition of aspirational word-names, a parent's hope for a child's standing and learning.Low

In 30 seconds: Doctor is the English word and title used as a given name, an aspirational word-name from Latin doctor, a learned one. It stayed rare, peaking around 1920 (said DOK-tur).
💕 Browse more names
Origin LowEnglish, Latin
MeaningDoctor is the familiar English word and title used, honestly and warmly, as a given name. It comes from the Latin 'doctor', meaning a teacher or learned person (from 'docere', to teach). As a name it belongs to a real, if uncommon, tradition of aspirational word-names, a parent's hope for a child's standing and learning.
U.S. rank (1951)#3440 ↗ Rising
1951 U.S. births6 boys (0.00% of U.S. boys)
Peak year1920
Total births (all-time)≈ 379

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 192018801951

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Doctor appears in early American records, especially in the South around the turn of the twentieth century, as a genuine given name - the title used aspirationally, a parent's wish for a child's respect and learning. It comes from the Latin for a teacher or learned one. We treat it plainly and warmly: a real, if rare, word-name of its era, not a joke.

Doctor was never common as a given name in the United States, reaching only about twenty boys a year around its high point in 1920 before fading by mid-century. A boy named Doctor then would be a great-grandfather today.

Did you know? Doctor belongs to a small American tradition of aspirational word-names - alongside titles and virtues like Prince, King, and Squire - given by parents as a hope written into a child's name.
Overall data confidence 30%
References - Doctor — Word/title given name; Latin doctor (teacher/learned); early-20thC Southern US

Variations

DocterDoc

Nicknames

Doc

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Doctor…

Squire— a like title used as a given name
Prince— a similar aspirational title-name
King— a similar word/title given name
Major— a similar title-turned-first-name

Explore names like Doctor

By themerarevintageword-nameaspirational

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Doctor mean?

It is the English word and title Doctor used as a given name, an aspirational word-name from the Latin 'doctor' meaning a teacher or learned one.

How do you pronounce Doctor?

It is said DOK-tur /ˈdɒk.tər/, two syllables with the stress on the first.

Is Doctor a boy or girl name?

Doctor is used here as a boy's name.

How popular is Doctor?

It has always been rare as a given name in the United States, given to only about twenty boys a year at its peak in the early nineteen-twenties.

💬 Ask Nia