Dori registers 73 times at rank 1460 on female pets — a name with multiple identity layers: a near-homophone of the animated fish Dory, a Tolkien dwarf, and a diminutive of Dorothy or Doris. In pet registries, the Finding Nemo association is almost certainly dominant.
The Finding Nemo Shadow
Dory (the blue tang fish voiced by Ellen DeGeneres in Finding Nemo and Finding Dory) is among the most beloved animated animal characters in cinema. The character's defining quality — cheerful, short-term-memory-challenged, relentlessly optimistic — transfers directly to pet-naming with warmth. The Dori spelling may be deliberate (avoiding exact brand overlap) or simply a family spelling preference. Nemo and Marlin occupy adjacent territory.
Sound and Breed Fit
Dori's two syllables (DOR-ee) end on a bright vowel that calls easily. The name works particularly well on energetic, social dogs. Golden retrievers and mixed breeds with an enthusiastic, somewhat unfocused quality suit the Dory associations well. The human name comparison is at /names/dorothy.
The Counter-Reading
Dori's connection to a specific animated character with a specific memorable trait creates an expectation. A dog named Dori who has excellent memory and laser focus undercuts the reference pleasantly. Most owners using the name are fully comfortable with the fish association and the jokes it generates over the animal's lifetime.