Doris is a predominantly feminine given name of Greek origin meaning Dorian woman. The name of the ethnic group is said to be derived from the name of the mythical founder Dorus, taken from Greek dōron, meaning gift. Doris was a sea goddess, wife of Nereus and mother of the Nereids in Greek mythology.
Usage As a feminine name, Doris was most popular in the Anglosphere in the late 19th century and early 20th century. It has also been particularly well used in German-speaking countries. The name is also in rare use as a male name. Doris and its spelling variant Dorris is also in use as a surname with different origins than the female given name. Women Doris, first wife of Herod the Great, 1st century Jewish client king Doris of Locri, wife of Sicilian tyrant Dionysus I of Syracuse (married c. 406 BC) and mother of Dionysus II of Syracuse
A Doris Abele (1957–2021), German Antarctic marine biologist Doris Abeßer (1935–2016), German actress and radio personality Doris Abrahams (1921–2009), American theater producer Doris E. Abramson (died 2008), American professor, writer, editor and bookstore proprietor Doris Achelwilm (born 1976), German journalist and politician Louise Doris Adams (1889–1965), British mathematics educator and school inspector Doris de Agostini (1958–2020), Swiss alpine skier and Olympian Doris Ahnen, German politician Doris Akers (1923–1995), American gospel music singer and composer Doris Akol (born 1970), Ugandan lawyer and administrator Doris Allen (singer), American singer Doris Allen (politician) (1936–1999), American politician Doris Twitchell Allen (1901–2002), American psychologist and founder of Children's International Summer Villages Doris Anderson (1921–2007), Canadian author, journalist, and women's rights activist Doris Anderson (screenwriter) (1897–1971), American screenwriter Doris Hilda Anderson (1921–2007), Canadian author, journalist, and women's rights activist Doris Margaret Anderson (1922–2022), Canadian nutritionist and politician Doris Andoni (born 1961), Albanian architect and housing policy expert Doris Angleton (1951–1997), American socialite and murder victim Doris Anyango (born 1993), Kenyan footballer Doris Arnold (1904–1969), British BBC Radio presenter and producer and pianist Doris Jean Austin (1949–1994), American author and journalist
B Doris Baaten (born 1956), Dutch voice actress Doris Bačić (born 1995), Croatian professional footballer Doris Bardsley (1895–1968), British-born Australian nurse Doris Barr (1921–2009), American baseball player Doris Bartholomew (born 1930), American linguist Doris Batter (1929–2002), British sprinter and Olympian Doris Beale (1889–1971), British military nurse and nursing administrator Doris Beck (1929–2020), American politician Doris Beeby (1894–1948), Australian trade unionist Doris Beeston (1897–1940), Australian kindergarten teacher Doris Belack (1926–2011), American actress Doris Marie Bender (1911–1991), American social worker Doris Benegas (1951–2016), Spanish lawyer and politician Doris Bensimon (1924–2009), Austrian-born French sociologist and academic Doris Bergen (born 1960), Canadian academic and Holocaust historian Doris Yankelewitz Berger (1934–2016), Costa Rican artist, politician, political activist, member of the National Liberation Party (PLN), and First Lady of Costa Rica from 1982 to 1986 Doris Betts (1932–2012), American author Doris Bigornia (born 1966), Filipina journalist Doris Birdsall (1915–2008), British politician Doris Bisang (born 1951), Swiss track and field athlete and Olympian Doris Bither, American woman who was the subject of a paranormal investigation in 1974 Doris Blackburn (1889–1970), Australian social reformer and politician Doris Blackwell (1891–1983), Australian memoirist Doris Blair (1915–2011), British artist Doris Blake (gymnast) (1911–1983), British gymnast and Olympian Doris Holmes Blake (1892–1978), American entomologist and scientific illustrator Doris Blanc (1926–2010), Swiss figure skater Doris Bloom (born 1954), South African painter Doris Boaduwaa, Ghanaian footballer Doris Bohrer (1923–2016), American spy and CIA deputy head of counterintelligence Doris Booth (1895–1970), Australian nurse and gold miner Doris Boulton-Maude (1892–1961), British artist, notable as a wood engraver, etcher and for her colour woodcut prints Doris Boyd (1888–1960), Australian artist, painter and ceramicist Doris Bozimo (born 1942), Nigerian librarian, academician and administrator Doris Crump Bradshaw (1896–1994), American librarian Doris Brett (born 1950), Australian writer and clinical psychologist Doris Sophia Brodi (born 1960), Malaysian politician Doris Brougham (1926–2024), American-born Taiwanese educator and Christian missionary Doris Jocelyn Brown (landscape architect) (1898–1971), Australian writer, landscape designer, and artist Doris P. Buck (1898–1980), American science fiction author Doris Buffett (1928–2020), American heiress and philanthropist Doris Bunte (1933–2021), American politician Doris Bures (born 1962), Austrian politician Doris Burke (born 1965), American basketball player and broadcaster Doris Burn (1923–2011), American children's author and illustrator Doris I. Byrne (1905–1975), American lawyer and politician
C Doris Caesar (1892–1971), American sculptor best known for her portrayals of the nude female body Doris Emerson Chapman (1903–1990), British artist and prehistorian Doris Callebaut (born 1952), Indonesian actress and model Doris Calloway (1923–2001), American nutritionist Doris Campbell, Austrian cross-country skier and Paralympian Doris Mary Cannell (1913–2000), English educator and historian Doris Carter (1912–1999), Australian military officer, public servant and high jumper Doris Carver (born 1946), American computer scientist, software engineer and academic Doris Castle (1942–1998), American civil rights activist Doris Castlerosse (1900–1942), English socialite Doris Cellar (born 1984), American singer-songwriter Doris Davis Centini (1931–2001), American food scientist and home economist Doris Chambers (1884–1983), English amateur golfer Doris Changeywo (born 1984), Kenyan professional long-distance writer Doris Totten Chase (1923–2008), American painter, teacher, and sculptor Doris Hargrett Clack (1928–1995), American librarian and academic Doris Mable Cochran (1898–1968), American herpetologist and custodian of the American Natural Collection at the Smithsonian Institution Doris Cohen, American mathematician and aerodynamicist Doris Cole (born 1938), American architect and author Doris Coley (1941–2000), American musician Doris Bell Collier (1897–1987), British physician and writer who used the pseudonym Josephine Bell Doris Collins (1918–2003), British spiritualist and psychic medium Doris Cook (born 1931), American former baseball player Doris "Dora" Cosens (1894–1945), British architect Doris Crane (1911–1999), British sculptor Doris Crouse-Mays (born 1958), American labor leader) Doris Malkin Curtis (1914–1991), American paleontologist, stratigrapher and geologist
D Doris Dana (1920–2006), American writer and translator Doris Daou (born 1964), Lebanese-born Canadian astronomer Doris Darlington (died 1998), Jamaican producer Doris Dartey (died 2020), Ghanaian educator and journalist Doris Davenport (1917–1980), American actress Doris Davenport (poet) (born 1949), American writer, educator, and literary and performance poet Doris A. Davis (born c. 1935), American politician Doris Dawson (1905–1986), American film actress Doris E. Day (1872–1966), British archer Doris Deane (1901–1974), American actress Doris Debenjak (1936–2013), Slovene and Gottschee German linguist and translator Doris de Pont (born 1954), New Zealand fashion designer Doris Derby (1939–2022), American activist and documentary photographer Doris Devrient (1801–1882), German actress and singer Doris Dlakude (born 1969), South African politician Doris Miles Disney (1907–1976), American mystery writer Doris Dörrie (born 1955), German film director, producer and author Doris Doscher (1882–1970), American actress and model Doris Dowling (1923–2004), American film, stage, and television actress Doris Downes (born 1961), American botanical artist, painter of natural history and a writer for the Environmental Governance Institute Doris Dragović (born 1961), Yugoslav-Croatian pop singer Doris Drought (1899–1976), American film editor and script supervisor Doris Dudley (1917–1985), American actress and real estate developer Doris Dungey (1961–2008), American blogger Doris Duke (1912–1993), American heiress, socialite, horticulturalist, and philanthropist Doris Duke (soul singer) (1941–2019), American gospel and soul singer Doris Duranti (1917–1995), Italian film actress Miriam Dorothy "Doris" Durlacher (1870–1942), Australian nurse and midwife
E Doris Eckert (1915–2005), German hurdler and Olympian Doris Egbring-Kahn (1926–2016), German actress Doris Emdin (1905–1967), English international table tennis player Doris Egan (born 1955), American screenwriter, producer, and writer Sister Doris Engelhard, German brewmaster and Catholic nun
F Doris E. Fales (1902–1992), American embryologist Doris Felderhoff, American former basketball player Doris Marjorie Fielding (1892–1956), British stage and film actress Doris Fiala (born 1957), Swiss politician Doris Fischer-Colbrie, American ceramic artist and former mathematician Doris Fisher, Baroness Fisher of Rednal (1919–2005), British politician Doris Fisher (songwriter) (1915–2003), American songwriter Doris F. Fisher (born 1931), American billionaire businesswoman Doris Fitton (1897–1985), Australian actress, director, and producer Doris Fleeson (1901–1970), American journalist and newspaper columnist Doris Fleischman (1891–1980), American writer, public relations executive, and feminist activist Doris Kathleen Flinn (1892–1977), English sculptor Doris F. Brooks, Guamanian accountant, former bank executive and politician Doris Frankel (1909–1994), American playwright, poet, radio show writer and television show writer Doris Freedman (1928–1981), American arts activist and administrator Doris Fuchs (born 1938), American gymnast and Olympian Doris Fuchs (scientist) (born 1966), German political scientist and academic Doris Fuller (died 1962), American competitive bridge player and teacher
G Doris Pilkington Garimara (1937–2014), Australian author Doris Gates (1901–1987), American writer of realistic children's fiction Doris Gentile (1894–1972), Australian novelist and short story writer Doris Gercke (1937–2025), German writer of crime thrillers Doris Gibson (1910–2008), Peruvian magazine writer and publisher Doris Gilbert (1914–1993), American screenwriter and television writer Doris Giller (1931–1993), Canadian journalist Doris Gluth (born 1955), German middle distance runner and Olympian Doris Goddard (1930–2019), German model, a copywriter, journalist and photographer Doris Gontersweiler-Vetterli (born 1933), Swiss former backstroke swimmer and Olympian Doris Goodale (1949–2020), American politician Doris Ann Goodchild (1906–1999), British lecturer, writer, artist, illustrator and charity fundraise Doris Gordon (1890–1956), New Zealand doctor, university lecturer, obstetrician and women's health reformer Doris Graber (1923–2018), American political scientist Doris Grant (née Cruikshank) (1905–2003), British nutritionist and food writer Doris Grau (1924–1995), American actress and script supervisor Doris Gregory (1921–2023), Canadian author and activist Doris M. Green (1904–1999), British philatelist Doris Grimes (1909–1987), British diver and Olympian Doris Große (1884–?), German artists' model Doris Grove, American world record breaking glider pilot, flight instructor and a member of the U.S. Soaring Hall of Fame Doris Grumbach (1918–2022), American novelist, memoirist, biographer, literary critic and essayist Doris Gunnarsson (born 1945), Swedish journalist and politician