Dolores (English)
Where does "Dolores" come from?
The name Dolores originates from the Spanish word for 'sorrows,' serving as a shortened form of the Roman Catholic epithet 'María de los Dolores,' or 'Our Lady of Sorrows.' It began as a religious reference to the Virgin Mary's suffering before evolving into the familiar female given name used today.
Full etymology tree
- Dolores (English), 'A female given name from Spanish.'
- borrowed Dolores (Spanish), 'a female given name from Old Spanish'
- clipping María de los Dolores (Spanish)
- compound dolores (Spanish), 'plural of dolor'
- inherited dolor (Latin), 'pain, ache, hurt'
- inherited *dolōs (Proto-Italic)
- inherited *delh₁- (Proto-Indo-European), 'to split, divide'
- inherited *dolōs (Proto-Italic)
- inherited dolor (Latin), 'pain, ache, hurt'
- compound María (Spanish), 'a female given name from Hebrew, equivalent to English Mary'
- inherited Marīa (Latin), 'a female given name'
- inherited Μαρίᾱ (Maríā) (Ancient Greek)
- borrowed מִרְיָם (miryām) (Hebrew), 'a female given name, Miriam'
- inherited Μαρίᾱ (Maríā) (Ancient Greek)
- inherited Marīa (Latin), 'a female given name'
- compound dolores (Spanish), 'plural of dolor'
- clipping María de los Dolores (Spanish)
- borrowed Dolores (Spanish), 'a female given name from Old Spanish'
Direct ancestors
Updated June 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris