girl's name
Nora
NOR-uh
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 4
- Popularity Top 100 (US)
- Births on record 235,978
the United States
#20
2025 births
Nora is a girl's name that developed as a short form of longer names, chiefly Honora and Eleanor, and is now used independently. Honora comes from the Latin honor, and Nora reached wide use in Ireland, where Honora was long a common baptismal name.
- Nora is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 2025, when 6,386 babies were given the name.
- It has been rising over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 519 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Nora 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 | 6,557 |
| 1890s | 8,336 |
| 1900s | 7,236 |
| 1910s | 11,173 |
| 1920s | 12,419 |
| 1930s | 9,041 |
| 1940s | 9,480 |
| 1950s | 11,603 |
| 1960s | 9,582 |
| 1970s | 5,775 |
| 1980s | 5,584 |
| 1990s | 5,542 |
| 2000s | 10,927 |
| 2010s | 44,088 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 36,579 |
What Nora means
Nora's meaning depends on which parent name you follow. Taken from Honora it means "honor," from the Latin word; taken from Eleanor its meaning is uncertain, since Eleanor's own root is unsettled. Most reference sources give "honor" as the primary reading.
Where Nora comes from
Nora arose as a clipped form rather than an original coinage. Its most direct parent is Honora, from the Latin honor, which the Normans carried into England and Ireland as Honora and Annora. In Ireland it became especially widespread, often interchanging with the native Irish name Nóra. A separate line reaches Nora through Eleanor and its variant Leonora, where the final syllables rather than the first were kept. Nora was firmly established as an independent name across Ireland and Scandinavia by the nineteenth century, and Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play A Doll's House gave it international literary standing through its central character, Nora Helmer.
How popular is Nora?
In 2025, Nora was given to 6,386 babies in the United States, ranking #20 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Where Nora 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.
How Nora is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Nóra | Nóra is a rare spelling of Nora, written with a fada and recorded 93 times, mostly in Ireland. | 93 |
Names that peaked alongside Nora
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Nora also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Nora over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Nora
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Nora 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 Nora
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Nora — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Nora
What does the name Nora mean?
Nora is usually read as meaning "honor," through its parent name Honora, from the Latin honor.
Is Nora short for Eleanor?
It can be. Nora developed as a short form of both Honora and Eleanor, and is now used as a name in its own right.
Is Nora an Irish name?
Nora became especially common in Ireland, where it overlapped with the Irish name Nóra and the Norman-introduced Honora.
How popular is the name Nora?
In 2025, Nora was given to 6,386 babies in the United States, ranking #20 that year. It is one of the most popular names in the United States.
Is Nora a girl's or a boy's name?
Nora is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Nora?
Nora has 2 syllables.
When was Nora most popular?
Nora peaked in 2025, when 6,386 babies were given the name. It has been rising over the past decade.
What are the nicknames for Nora?
Nora is usually shortened to Nor.
Is Nora a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Nora currently ranks #14 in the United States. It has been rising over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.