girls' name ★ peaked 1921

Dora

Meaning gift Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #2,388 Trend ↓ Falling 13%

Dora is a female name of Greek origin, being a shortened form or derived from Dorothea (Dorothy) and Theodora, meaning "gift" or in its full form "god's gift", from…

Rank 2025
#2,388
among girls · ↑201 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
75
named Dora · +10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 21,430
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1921
2,031 babies
All-time total
106,480
#361 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Dora popularity over time

106,480 babies have been named Dora since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
1.883.755.637.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 7,288 53 7,341 734 – #46
1890s 8,684 47 8,731 873 +19% #58
1900s 8,011 35 8,046 805 -8% #79
1910s 14,012 70 14,082 1,408 +75% #103
1920s 18,335 106 18,441 1,844 +31% #130
1930s 12,387 96 12,483 1,248 -32% #142
1940s 9,717 49 9,766 977 -22% #181
1950s 9,285 38 9,323 932 -5% #242
1960s 7,418 33 7,451 745 -20% #308
1970s 3,941 18 3,959 396 -47% #418
1980s 2,378 5 2,383 238 -40% #610
1990s 1,734 – 1,734 173 -27% #970
2000s 1,384 – 1,384 138 -20% #1,219
2010s 919 – 919 92 -34% #1,857
2020s (to 2025) 437 – 437 73 -21% #2,254

Where Dora is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 74 0.05 outside top 500
2027 73 0.05 outside top 500
2028 72 0.04 outside top 500
2029 71 0.04 outside top 500
2030 70 0.04 outside top 500

Where Dora is most popular

Girls named Dora per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.045 per 1,000. Strongest in New York, California, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Dora born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
New York 34 0.086 +91%
California 71 0.084 +88%
Texas 42 0.052 +16%
Pennsylvania 11 0.047 ≈ national
Michigan 8 0.044 ≈ national
Florida 13 0.030 -32%
Ohio 5 0.021 -53%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Dora

Dora is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,388 in 2025 with 75 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 106,480 American babies have been named Dora. Its peak came in 1921, when 2,031 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Dora stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Dora?

The median living Dora is about 66 years old; half are between 52 and 78. An estimated 35 thousand people named Dora are alive in the United States today.

median 66 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Dora year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 75 #2,388 – –
2024 68 #2,589 – –
2023 68 #2,595 – –
2022 71 #2,511 – –
2021 82 #2,254 – –
2020 73 #2,399 – –
2019 102 #1,935 – –
2018 75 #2,408 – –
2017 100 #1,978 – –
2016 111 #1,857 – –
2015 101 #1,973 – –
2014 88 #2,156 – –
2013 78 #2,351 – –
2012 93 #2,068 – –
2011 88 #2,161 – –
2010 83 #2,300 – –
2009 102 #2,021 – –
2008 93 #2,161 – –
2007 100 #2,043 – –
2006 142 #1,541 – –
2005 155 #1,391 – –
2004 165 #1,298 – –
2003 169 #1,243 – –
2002 164 #1,224 – –
2001 166 #1,219 – –
2000 128 #1,435 – –
1995 167 #1,068 – –
1990 192 #972 – –
1985 232 #746 – –
1980 301 #610 – –
1975 407 #464 6 #4,979
1970 537 #418 – –
1965 724 #335 – –
1960 925 #308 10 #2,734
1955 910 #286 – –
1950 896 #252 – –
1945 882 #216 – –
1940 1,039 #181 9 #2,529
1935 1,169 #168 8 #2,765
1930 1,498 #142 13 #2,211
1925 1,945 #136 7 #3,496
1920 1,865 #133 7 #3,573
1915 1,666 #122 6 #3,507
1910 833 #103 5 #1,657
1905 757 #89 – –
1900 958 #79 5 #1,361
1895 884 #68 – –
1890 883 #62 7 #829
1885 776 #49 – –
1880 524 #51 6 #843

Famous people named Dora

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Dora Maar Dora Maar French artist and partner of Pablo Picasso (1907–1997) Contemporary
  2. 2 Dora Bryan Dora Bryan English actress (1923–2014) Contemporary
  3. 3 Dora Bakoyannis Dora Bakoyannis Greek politician (born 1954) Contemporary
  4. 4 Dora Pejačević Dora Pejačević Croatian composer (1885–1923) 19th century
  5. 5 Dora d'Istria Dora d'Istria Romanian writer (1828–1888) 19th century
  6. 6 Dora Ratjen Dora Ratjen German high jumper (1918–2008) Contemporary
  7. 7 Dora Gabe Dora Gabe Bulgarian poet and writer 1888–1983 · 19th century
  8. 8 Dora Boothby Dora Boothby English badminton and tennis player 1881–1970 · 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Dora, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Dora?

The median living Dora is about 66 years old. Half of all living Doras are between 52 and 78 years old.

How many people named Dora are alive today?

An estimated 35 thousand people named Dora are alive in the United States, based on 106,480 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Dora mean?

Dora is a female name of Greek origin, being a shortened form or derived from Dorothea (Dorothy) and Theodora, meaning "gift" or in its full form "god's gift", from δῶρον, doron, "gift" + θεός, theos, "god".

How popular is the name Dora in 2025?

Dora ranked #2,388 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 75 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Dora?

106,480 babies have been named Dora in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Dora most popular?

Dora peaked in 1921, when 2,031 newborns received the name.

Is Dora a boy or girl name?

Dora is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Dora rising or falling?

Dora has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Dora become more popular?

Dora is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 70 girls named Dora in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Dora?

Well-known people named Dora include Dora Maar (photographer), Dora Bryan (actor), Dora Bakoyannis (politician).

Names like Dora

Names that sound and feel close to Dora: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Dora with similar names → More names starting with D →