Its name refers to the mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus), which is known as dorado ("golden") in Spanish, although it has also been depicted as a swordfish.

Dorado was one of twelve constellations named by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman.

S Dor, 9.721 hypergiant in the Large Magellanic Cloud, is the prototype of S Doradus variable stars.

The pole was called "Polus Doradinalis" by Philipp von Zesen, aka Caesius.

Because Dorado contains part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, it is rich in deep sky objects.

In Chinese astronomy, the stars of Dorado are in two of Xu Guangqi's Southern Asterisms (近南極星區, Jìnnánjíxīngōu): the White Patches Attached (夾白, Jiābái) and the Goldfish (金魚, Jīnyú).