Zora
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Meaning
from a Slavic word meaning 'dawn'
The story
Zora means dawn in several South Slavic languages, as well as Czech and Slovak. Zora Neale Hurston gave the name a second kind of morning by listening to voices that literary culture often ignored. Raised in Eatonville, Florida, one of the earliest self-governed Black towns in the United States, she became both a writer and an anthropologist. She returned south to gather stories, jokes, songs, and sayings, shaping that work into Mules and Men while also writing novels such as Their Eyes Were Watching God. Hurston died with little public attention. Later, writer Alice Walker searched for her neglected grave and placed a marker there, helping bring her work back into view. Dawn did not determine Hurston's life, and her recovery was not the work of one person alone. The association still feels earned: a voice once left in shadow meets readers again, carrying the speech and wit she had refused to smooth away.
How popular is Zora around the world?
In the United States, 1,870 babies were named Zora between 2020 and 2025. In Austria, 11 girls named Zora were born in 2025, the 438th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
Zora is on the official records of the United States, Austria, Canada, England and Wales, France, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 12,000
In the United States, 1,870 babies were named Zora between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Zora peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Austria
1 in 6,900
In Austria, 11 girls named Zora were born in 2025, the 438th most common name among girls that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
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)
Canada
1 in 8,700
In Canada, 23 girls named Zora were born in 2024, ranked 1,109th among girls that year.
In Canada, 19 boys named Zora were born in 2024, ranked 1,232nd among boys that year.
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)
England and Wales
1 in 14,000
In England and Wales, 22 boys named Zora were born in 2025, ranked 1,276th among boys that year.
In England and Wales, 20 girls named Zora were born in 2025, ranked 1,512th among girls that year.
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
France
1 in 130,000
In France, about 5 girls named Zora were born in 2025, ranked 3,398th among girls that year.
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)
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 206 people in Brazil were named Zora, ranked 24,871st, with a median age of 47.
Among people named Zora living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1970s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
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
Spain
1 in 1.9M
In Spain, 23 residents are named Zora, ranked 28,482nd among women, with a mean age of 49.8 years.
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
Ireland
last on record 2004
Zora is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 1960
Zora is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Poland
last on record 2018
Zora is not on the 2025 record for Poland, where names given fewer than 2 times in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 2 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)
South Australia
last on record 2014
Zora is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 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
Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, New Zealand and Scotland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Zora
Most people given the name Zora in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Where Zora travels
African American · A documented choice in Black American families.
Keep exploring
African American baby names · Names of poets and writers · Short names
The Zora deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Zora 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 Zora fits with your family’s names and surname.
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