girls' name ★ peaked 2025

Nora

Meaning Short form of Eleanor or, rarely, of Honora Gender Girl Rank 2025 #20 Trend ↑ Rising 11%

Short form of Eleanor or, rarely, of Honora.

Rank 2025
#20
among girls · ↑2 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
6,386
named Nora · +4% vs 2024
How common
1 in 252
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2025
6,386 babies
All-time total
193,922
#204 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Nora popularity over time

193,922 babies have been named Nora 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 6,521 36 6,557 656 – #55
1890s 8,293 43 8,336 834 +27% #63
1900s 7,172 64 7,236 724 -13% #81
1910s 11,063 110 11,173 1,117 +54% #111
1920s 12,298 121 12,419 1,242 +11% #157
1930s 8,926 115 9,041 904 -27% #189
1940s 9,405 75 9,480 948 +5% #209
1950s 11,540 63 11,603 1,160 +22% #223
1960s 9,521 61 9,582 958 -17% #238
1970s 5,770 5 5,775 578 -40% #364
1980s 5,532 52 5,584 558 -3% #391
1990s 5,532 10 5,542 554 -1% #431
2000s 10,922 5 10,927 1,093 +97% #198
2010s 44,076 12 44,088 4,409 +303% #29
2020s (to 2025) 36,567 12 36,579 6,097 +38% #20

Where Nora 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 6,484 4.03 #20
2027 6,574 4.09 #20
2028 6,652 4.14 #19
2029 6,718 4.18 #18
2030 6,775 4.22 #17

Where Nora is most popular

Girls named Nora per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 3.82 per 1,000. Strongest in Vermont, New Hampshire, and North Dakota.

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 Nora 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
Vermont 90 18.6 +386%
New Hampshire 239 12.9 +239%
North Dakota 160 12.2 +219%
Montana 158 11.7 +206%
Rhode Island 146 11.7 +205%
South Dakota 163 11.4 +199%
District of Columbia 133 11.2 +194%
Maine 167 10.8 +183%
Wyoming 45 10.6 +176%
Alaska 84 9.76 +155%
Minnesota 976 9.04 +137%
Wisconsin 905 8.79 +130%
Massachusetts 1,020 8.44 +121%
Delaware 95 8.37 +119%
Nebraska 298 8.29 +117%
Iowa 477 8.16 +114%
Connecticut 419 7.20 +89%
Idaho 238 7.11 +86%
Utah 560 6.73 +76%
Kansas 382 6.62 +73%
Pennsylvania 1,565 6.62 +73%
Ohio 1,560 6.58 +72%
Oregon 425 6.53 +71%
Michigan 1,176 6.46 +69%
Missouri 776 6.44 +69%
Colorado 713 6.39 +67%
West Virginia 162 6.18 +62%
Hawaii 69 6.02 +58%
Illinois 1,319 5.76 +51%
Indiana 803 5.72 +50%
Kentucky 482 5.64 +48%
Washington 775 5.37 +40%
Virginia 868 5.09 +33%
Maryland 513 4.84 +27%
North Carolina 1,097 4.82 +26%
New Jersey 845 4.68 +23%
Oklahoma 342 4.65 +22%
South Carolina 412 4.58 +20%
Tennessee 718 4.53 +19%
Arkansas 236 4.47 +17%
New York 1,633 4.12 +8%
Louisiana 357 4.08 +7%
Alabama 355 3.78 ≈ national
Arizona 513 3.66 ≈ national
Georgia 787 3.46 -9%
Nevada 156 3.36 -12%
New Mexico 80 3.29 -14%
Mississippi 149 3.19 -17%
Florida 1,177 2.75 -28%
California 2,265 2.69 -29%
Texas 1,901 2.36 -38%

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 Nora

Nora is a top-50 name for girls in the United States, ranked #20 in 2025 with 6,380 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 193,922 American babies have been named Nora. Its peak came in 2025, when 6,386 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2020s.

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 Nora stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Nora?

The median living Nora is about 11 years old; half are between 5 and 44. An estimated 135 thousand people named Nora are alive in the United States today.

median 11 020406080100

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

Nora 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 6,380 #20 6 #11,617
2024 6,148 #22 – –
2023 6,027 #24 – –
2022 6,148 #28 – –
2021 6,281 #27 – –
2020 5,583 #30 6 #11,595
2019 5,936 #29 – –
2018 5,837 #30 7 #10,431
2017 6,067 #29 – –
2016 5,593 #36 – –
2015 5,330 #41 – –
2014 4,741 #49 5 #13,476
2013 3,508 #83 – –
2012 2,890 #108 – –
2011 2,235 #137 – –
2010 1,939 #159 – –
2009 1,670 #198 – –
2008 1,560 #216 – –
2007 1,474 #242 – –
2006 1,385 #245 – –
2005 1,197 #276 – –
2004 1,043 #306 – –
2003 830 #367 5 #12,208
2002 601 #471 – –
2001 622 #448 – –
2000 540 #502 – –
1995 545 #463 5 #9,880
1990 588 #431 5 #9,099
1985 541 #412 6 #6,293
1980 571 #400 9 #4,397
1975 552 #377 – –
1970 676 #366 – –
1965 881 #302 8 #3,171
1960 1,345 #238 11 #2,644
1955 1,047 #255 6 #3,772
1950 1,116 #225 – –
1945 833 #228 12 #2,098
1940 843 #209 7 #3,050
1935 910 #192 12 #2,212
1930 1,015 #190 11 #2,563
1925 1,317 #171 9 #3,073
1920 1,477 #157 17 #2,026
1915 1,293 #144 10 #2,567
1910 753 #111 10 #1,097
1905 742 #92 11 #777
1900 919 #83 9 #951
1895 846 #70 6 #1,045
1890 835 #63 5 #1,111
1885 670 #56 8 #746
1880 471 #56 5 #1,022

Famous people named Nora

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

  1. 1 Nora Fatehi Nora Fatehi Canadian dancer and actress (born 1992) Contemporary
  2. 2 Nora Ephron Nora Ephron American writer and filmmaker (1941–2012) Contemporary
  3. 3 Nora Arnezeder Nora Arnezeder French actress (born 1989) Contemporary
  4. 4 Nora Roberts Nora Roberts American author (born 1950) Contemporary
  5. 5 Nora Zehetner Nora Zehetner American actress (born 1981) Contemporary
  6. 6 Nora Dunn American actress and comedian (born 1952) Contemporary
  7. 7 Nora Aunor Nora Aunor Filipino actress and singer (1953–2025) Contemporary
  8. 8 Nora Miao Hong Kong actress (born 1952) Contemporary
  9. 9 Nora Tschirner Nora Tschirner German actress b. 1981 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Nora Bayes Nora Bayes American singer and vaudeville performer (1880–1928) 19th century
  11. 11 Nora Stanton Barney Nora Stanton Barney American civil engineer and suffragist 1883–1971 · 19th century
  12. 12 Nora Gjakova Kosovar judoka (born 1992) Contemporary
  13. 13 Nora Brockstedt Nora Brockstedt Norwegian singer 1923–2015 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Nora?

The median living Nora is about 11 years old. Half of all living Noras are between 5 and 44 years old.

How many people named Nora are alive today?

An estimated 135 thousand people named Nora are alive in the United States, based on 193,922 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Nora mean?

Short form of Eleanor or, rarely, of Honora.

How popular is the name Nora in 2025?

Nora ranked #20 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 6,380 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Nora?

193,922 babies have been named Nora in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Nora most popular?

Nora peaked in 2025, when 6,386 newborns received the name.

Is Nora a boy or girl name?

Nora is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Nora rising or falling?

Nora is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Nora become more popular?

Nora looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 6,775 girls named Nora in 2030, ranking around #17. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Nora?

Well-known people named Nora include Nora Fatehi (model), Nora Ephron (writer), Nora Arnezeder (actor).

Names like Nora

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

Compare Nora with similar names → More names starting with N →