Dorian

The name Dorian was a literary creation by Oscar Wilde in his 1891 novel “The Portrait of Dorian Gray”. There is no evidence that Dorian as a given name existed prior to the book’s publication. It’s believed that Wilde took the name from the Dorians, one of the most prominent ethnic groups in ancient Greece. It was the Dorians (Spartans) who fought in the Peloponnesian War against the Ionians (Athenians) in the fifth century B.C. In reference to the Greek tribe, the name Dorian purportedly comes from Dorus, son of the mythological Hellene (the progenitor of the Greek people). The etymology of “Dorian” (Greek: Δωριεύς) is still debated. Some credible sources suggest that dōris means “woodland” (as a place of origin). A second theory is from the Greek doru meaning “spear-shaft” or “people of the spear” (given the Dorian’s militaristic prowess). Lastly, dōron means “gift” in reference to a poem fragment found written by Tyrtaios in the 7th century B.C. in part translates to “Zeus the husband of fair-crowned Hera, hath given this city [Sparta] to the children of Heracles.” This supports the mythological belief that the migration of the Dorian tribe down to southwestern Greece was in essence considered “The Return of Hercules”. In this case, the Dorians would be considered the “people of the gift.” There’s also another potential meaning for the name Dorian. Some consider it an anglicized form of the Irish-Gaelic Ó Deoradháin (descendant of Deoradhán) whereby Deoradhán is an old personal name meaning ‘exiled one, stranger’. In any case, in Wilde’s novel, Dorian Gray is a “Faustian” character who in essence makes his deal with the devil by staying perpetually young while a portrait of him in the attic does all the aging. The macabre, pleasure-seeking Dorian has done little to discourage parents from using this interesting name. In fact, Dorian is on the Top 100 lists of most commonly used male names in France and Hungary, and it’s a Top 50 favorite in Croatia.