girl's name
Dora
DOR-uh
- Origin Greek
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Uncommon
- Births on record 109,763
Scotland
#858
2021 births
Dora means gift, and it is the end of several names rather than a name in its own right — Theodora, Isidora and Dorothea all supply it, and Dorothy means the same thing with the halves reversed.
- Dora is a name of Greek origin.
- Peaked in 1921, when 2,031 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 44,205 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Dora over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 7,341 |
| 1890s | 8,731 |
| 1900s | 8,046 |
| 1910s | 14,082 |
| 1920s | 18,441 |
| 1930s | 12,483 |
| 1940s | 9,766 |
| 1950s | 9,323 |
| 1960s | 7,451 |
| 1970s | 3,959 |
| 1980s | 2,383 |
| 1990s | 1,734 |
| 2000s | 1,384 |
| 2010s | 919 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 437 |
What Dora means
Dora means gift, from the Greek doron. It clips the end of longer compounds, so the full sense depends on which name it came from — gift of God, or gift of Isis.
Where Dora comes from
Dora clips the end of Theodora, Isidora, Dorothea and Pandora, all built on the Greek doron, a gift. The pairing is neat: Theodora is theos, God, plus doron, and Dorothea is the same two elements in the opposite order, so Theodore and Dorothy mean exactly the same thing with the halves swapped. Isidora is a gift of Isis, carrying an Egyptian goddess into Christian naming. Dickens gave the name to David Copperfield's first wife in 1850.
Dora in use
Dora peaked in the United States in 1921, when 2,031 babies were registered, and our data marks it stable rather than falling. It charts in four of the seven markets we track — 1287th in England and Wales on 25 births, 1746th in Canada, 2393rd in the United States on 75 and 2946th in France on 10 — across 109,763 lifetime births. England ranks it well above America.
How popular is Dora?
In 2025, Dora was given to 75 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.
Where Dora is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Dora
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Dora also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Dora over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
Dora in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Dora
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Dora — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Dora
What does the name Dora mean?
Gift — the Greek doron, clipped from Theodora, Dorothea or Isidora.
Do Theodore and Dorothy mean the same thing?
Exactly the same — gift of God, with the two elements in opposite order.
What does Isidora mean?
Gift of Isis — an Egyptian goddess carried into Christian naming.
How popular is Dora?
1287th in England and Wales, and our data marks it stable.
Is Dora a girl's or a boy's name?
Dora is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Dora?
Dora has 2 syllables.
Is Dora a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Dora currently ranks #1,287 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.