Meaning & Origin
A female given name from Spanish.
Dolores is a girl's and boy's baby name of Spanish origin, from the Spanish María de los Dolores meaning "Mary of Sorrows" — a title of the Virgin Mary referring to her seven sorrows. Dolores became a standalone given name in Catholic countries, particularly in Spain and Latin America.
Dolores was in the U.S. top 20 girls' names during the 1930s. The character Dolores Umbridge in Harry Potter gave it a darkly comic contemporary profile — but the real name has far more warmth than its fictional villain suggests. The nickname Lola, in particular, gives Dolores a playful, sun-drenched alter ego that's hard to resist.