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Nora

girl name
Origin
Irish
Syllables
2
Peak era
2020s
Today
▲ Rising

Torn between Nora and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

In its European use, a short form of Honora or Eleanor; linked to Latin "honor" through Honora, while Eleanor's deeper origin is uncertain.

Goes by Nonie. See all nicknames

Famously borne by performer Nora Lum, known as Awkwafina, a modern revival pick. Famously borne by Nora Roberts, the name Eleanor Robertson has published more than 200 novels under.

The story

A door closes at the end of Ibsen's A Doll's House. Nora has decided that she must educate herself and learn to stand on her own. The final stage direction gives us a sound, leaving the audience with the choice she has made. Her name has a different kind of opening behind it. In its documented European use, Nora can be a short form of Honora or Eleanor. Honora leads to Latin honor; Eleanor comes through an Old French form of Occitan Alienòr, with a deeper origin that remains uncertain. Ibsen gives Nora her own argument and departure. The short form has enough room for both an inherited naming history and a character who refuses to let other people finish her story for her.

More names with stories →

The formal names behind Nora

Nora is an established short form of each of these names.

Eleanor · Greek origin · traditionally "light," by association with Helen, though it began as the Occitan Alienor, its true root debated; queens of Aquitaine and England wore it, a First Lady dignified it, and the vintage revival returned it to the top tier. Nell, Ellie, and Nora wait inside

Leonora · French origin · variant of Eleanor, meaning disputed, traditionally light

Why we verify every short-form relationship →

How popular is Nora around the world?

In the United States, 36,579 babies were named Nora between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 357 girls were given the name Nora in 2025.

Nora is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Austria, Canada, Scotland, Ireland, England and Wales, New Zealand, France, New South Wales, Spain, South Australia, Mexico City, Chile, Poland, Argentina and Brazil.

Nora crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish

United States

1 in 600

In the United States, 36,579 babies were named Nora between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Nora peaked in the 2020s.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 75 · register 2026

In Norway, 357 girls were given the name Nora in 2025.

1945peak 2016

share of the girls on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

Austria

1 in 220

In Austria, 346 girls named Nora were born in 2025, the 16th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.

1984peak 2021

share of that year’s births on record

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Canada

1 in 510

In Canada, 724 girls named Nora were born in 2024, the 14th most common name among girls that year.

1991peak 2022

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Scotland

1 in 820

In Scotland, 56 girls named Nora were registered in 2024, the 72nd most common name among girls that year.

1974peak 2024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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Ireland

1 in 830

In Ireland, 65 girls named Nora were born in 2025, the 76th most common name among girls that year.

peak 19652025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. This registry counts each spelling separately; the figures above are for the exact spelling Nora, and accented spellings are separate names. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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England and Wales

1 in 950

In England and Wales, 616 girls named Nora were born in 2025, the 75th most common name among girls that year.

1996peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

New Zealand

1 in 1,100

In New Zealand, 54 girls named Nora were registered in 2025.

peak 19092025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

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France

1 in 1,100

In France, about 570 girls named Nora were born in 2025, the 84th most common name among girls that year.

1900peak 2023

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

New South Wales

#52 · 2025

In New South Wales, 128 girls named Nora were registered in 2025, ranked 52nd in that year’s top 100 for girls.

2020peak 2025

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Spain

#43 · 2024

In Spain, 23,045 residents are named Nora, the 174th most common name among women, with a mean age of 16.4 years.
In Spain, Nora was the 43rd most common name among girls born in 2024.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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South Australia

1 in 4,600 · 2017

In South Australia, 4 girls were registered as Nora in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

Mexico City City

1 in 13,000

In Mexico City, there were 9 registrations of Nora in 2022.

peak 20012022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

Chile

1 in 30,000

In Chile, 6 girls were registered as Nora in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

peak 19332021

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Poland

1 in 49,000

In Poland, 5 girls named Nora were born in 2025, the 461st most common name among girls that year.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Argentina

1 in 60,000

In Argentina, 11 newborns were given the name Nora in 2024.

2012peak 20192024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

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Brazil

1 in 91,000

At the 2022 census, 2,243 people in Brazil were named Nora, ranked 4,737th, with a median age of 61.
Among people named Nora living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1950s than in any other decade.

1930speak 1950s2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 34 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Montevideo City

last on record 2006

Nora is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.

peak 19492011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Not on the record in Puerto Rico: that registry withholds small counts, so rare uses may sit below its floor.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

Names that fit alongside Nora

Evelyn Charlotte Emma Amelia Claire Sofia

Where Nora travels

Irish American · honor, short form of Honora; a graceful classic experiencing a strong revival

Chinese American · honor (short form of Honora)

Scandinavian · honor, light (a top name across Scandinavia and increasingly in the US)

German · honor, light

Global crossover · honor, light (short form of Honora/Eleanor); a top girls' name in Norway and the Netherlands and a fast riser in the US

Keep exploring

Names like Nora · Names that go with Nora · Nicknames for Nora · Middle names for Nora · Scandinavian baby names · German baby names · Global crossover names · Irish American baby names · Chinese American baby names · Short names · What is Nora short for?

Name trails: explore connections from Nora →

The Nora deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Nora truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Nora fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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