Dulcie: Baby Name of the Day

The baby name is one-part Elsie, two parts spun-sugar. Sweet, stylish, and on-trend, too.

Thanks to Sabrina for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.

SWEETNESS PERSONIFIED

The meaning of Dulcie is straightforward. It comes from the Latin dulcis, meaning sweet.

It fits with a cluster of names used in medieval England. All shared Latin roots and appealing meanings: Constance, Clemence, Amabel, Viviana.

Fourteenth century England gives us Dulcia, Douce, and Duce. The latter two owe something to the French word for sweet or gentle, douce.

The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources lists Dulce in multiple forms, as well as Dulciebelle and Dulcedram.

DOWSABEL

In Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors, Dromio of Syracuse refers to Dowsabel. Another play, The London Prodigal, mentions “as pretty a Dowsabell as we should hope to see on a summer’s day.”  And an poem from the same era, written by Michael Drayton, calls his Dowsabel “a maiden fayre and free.” 

It’s part-name, part-endearment. And it was thoroughly literary, too.

DULCINEA, DULCIBELLA

Speaking of literary uses, Don Quixote’s  Dulcinea might be one of the most appealing longer forms for Dulcie.

Dulcibella – an update to medieval Dowsabel – is another possibility.

FAMOUS WOMEN NAMED DULCIE and DULCE

• 1916 silent rom-com Dulcie’s Adventure featured the lovely Mary Miles Minter.
• In 1919 Gladys Leslie played the lead in Dulcie from Dixie.
• Dulcie Deamer was an Australian actor and writer.
• Dulcie Gray had a long career on stage, television and film – and also wrote murder mysteries.
• Agatha Christie’s novel Murder on the Links included twins named Dulcie and Bella.
• 1953 musical The Boy Friend featured the students of Miss Dubonnet’s School for Young Ladies: Maisie, Nancy, Fay, Polly, and Dulcie.
• It was the name of a Coronation Street character in the 1980s.
• Dulcie September was a South African anti-apartheid activist, assassinated in Paris, and for whom a Parisian city square is named.
• The Disney Fairies family includes a Dulcie, Pixie Hollow’s best baker.

It’s a longer list than many might expect.

BY the NUMBERS

Between the 1880s and 1905, the baby name Dulcie routinely ranked in the US Top 1000.

But the preferred spelling has switched in recent decades.

Dulce – literally “sweet” or “candy” in Spanish – is now the preferred spelling in the US. It debuted in the US Top 1000 in 1990. As of 2023, the baby name Dulce ranks #781.

In the meantime, Dulcie was given to fewer than five girls in 2023.

Other possibilities include:

• The Italian Dolce, as in Dolce & Gabbana and la dolce vita, given to fewer than five girls in 2023, but used in small numbers as recently as 2022.
• Dulcet, a rare word name, never in the US Top 1000.
• Dulcimer, another word name, this time from a musical instrument, again, never used for five girls in a single year.

SWEETLY VINTAGE

While longer forms, like Dulcet and Dulcinea, remain quite rare, Dulce has enjoyed some popularity in recent generations. Spelling the baby name Dulcie would fit with so many popular choices, too.

If you’re after a name that’s old-fashioned, undiscovered, sweet, and straightforward, Dulcie has potential.

What do you think of the baby name Dulcie? Do you prefer Dulce, or one of the longer forms?

First published on February 5, 2014, this post was revised and updated on July 7, 2024.