girls' name ★ peaked 2017

Norah

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #262 Trend ↓ Falling 28%

A female given name, a pseudo-Hebrew spelling of Nora, diminutive of Eleonora or Honora.

Rank 2025
#262
among girls · ↓39 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,191
named Norah · -14% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,350
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2017
2,156 babies
All-time total
33,998
#771 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Norah popularity over time

33,998 babies have been named Norah 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
0.380.751.131.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 125 – 125 13 – #432
1890s 146 – 146 15 +17% #672
1900s 114 – 114 11 -22% #897
1910s 177 7 184 18 +61% #1,393
1920s 197 33 230 23 +25% #1,670
1930s 129 29 158 16 -31% #2,009
1940s 206 32 238 24 +51% #1,650
1950s 234 22 256 26 +8% #1,601
1960s 213 – 213 21 -17% #2,284
1970s 238 – 238 24 +12% #2,643
1980s 327 – 327 33 +37% #2,555
1990s 357 – 357 36 +9% #2,974
2000s 4,459 6 4,465 447 +1151% #343
2010s 17,744 – 17,744 1,774 +297% #137
2020s (to 2025) 9,203 – 9,203 1,534 -14% #152

Where Norah 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 1,125 0.70 #276
2027 1,073 0.67 #287
2028 1,030 0.64 #299
2029 994 0.62 #307
2030 965 0.60 #316

Where Norah is most popular

Girls named Norah per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.911 per 1,000. Strongest in North Dakota, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

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 Norah 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
North Dakota 41 3.12 +242%
Rhode Island 39 3.11 +242%
Vermont 15 3.09 +240%
Maine 43 2.78 +205%
South Dakota 35 2.45 +169%
New Hampshire 43 2.33 +156%
Minnesota 209 1.94 +113%
Idaho 60 1.79 +97%
Oregon 116 1.78 +96%
Kansas 101 1.75 +92%
Wisconsin 179 1.74 +91%
Iowa 101 1.73 +90%
Nebraska 62 1.72 +89%
Arkansas 89 1.68 +85%
Kentucky 134 1.57 +72%
Michigan 283 1.55 +70%
Massachusetts 187 1.55 +70%
Washington 223 1.54 +69%
Tennessee 241 1.52 +67%
Ohio 340 1.43 +57%
Utah 119 1.43 +57%
Oklahoma 105 1.43 +57%
Colorado 156 1.40 +53%
Pennsylvania 329 1.39 +53%
West Virginia 36 1.37 +51%
Indiana 192 1.37 +50%
Missouri 146 1.21 +33%
Virginia 196 1.15 +26%
Illinois 262 1.14 +26%
North Carolina 259 1.14 +25%
Connecticut 64 1.10 +21%
Maryland 116 1.09 +20%
South Carolina 96 1.07 +17%
Alabama 100 1.07 +17%
Louisiana 93 1.06 +17%
Montana 13 0.960 +5%
Hawaii 11 0.960 +5%
Georgia 214 0.942 ≈ national
New York 335 0.846 -7%
District of Columbia 10 0.844 -7%
Arizona 114 0.812 -11%
New Jersey 146 0.809 -11%
Florida 332 0.776 -15%
California 644 0.766 -16%
Texas 594 0.739 -19%
Alaska 5 0.581 -36%
Mississippi 27 0.577 -37%
Nevada 24 0.517 -43%
New Mexico 11 0.452 -50%
Delaware 5 0.441 -52%
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 Norah

Norah is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #262 in 2025 with 1,191 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 33,998 American babies have been named Norah. Its peak came in 2017, when 2,156 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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

How old are people named Norah?

The median living Norah is about 9 years old; half are between 5 and 14. An estimated 33 thousand people named Norah are alive in the United States today.

median 9 020406080100

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

Norah 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 1,191 #262 – –
2024 1,384 #223 – –
2023 1,488 #201 – –
2022 1,539 #192 – –
2021 1,791 #160 – –
2020 1,810 #152 – –
2019 1,975 #144 – –
2018 2,013 #140 – –
2017 2,156 #137 – –
2016 2,026 #154 – –
2015 2,032 #159 – –
2014 2,007 #163 – –
2013 1,725 #188 – –
2012 1,502 #210 – –
2011 1,217 #264 – –
2010 1,091 #298 – –
2009 959 #343 – –
2008 666 #476 – –
2007 689 #468 – –
2006 591 #516 – –
2005 558 #524 – –
2004 476 #591 6 #10,942
2003 303 #818 – –
2002 96 #1,861 – –
2001 64 #2,453 – –
2000 57 #2,627 – –
1995 29 #3,748 – –
1990 38 #3,006 – –
1985 28 #3,215 – –
1980 32 #2,845 – –
1975 29 #2,661 – –
1970 16 #3,825 – –
1965 19 #2,896 – –
1960 25 #2,415 – –
1955 24 #2,262 6 #3,773
1950 22 #2,105 5 #4,048
1945 26 #1,650 – –
1940 16 #2,079 5 #3,802
1935 12 #2,538 – –
1930 13 #2,523 – –
1925 23 #1,835 8 #3,322
1920 23 #1,792 – –
1915 22 #1,605 – –
1910 12 #1,403 – –
1905 10 #1,282 – –
1900 18 #911 – –
1895 18 #761 – –
1890 11 #861 – –
1885 15 #569 – –
1880 9 #618 – –

Famous people named Norah

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

  1. 1 Norah Jones Norah Jones American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1979) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Norah?

The median living Norah is about 9 years old. Half of all living Norahs are between 5 and 14 years old.

How many people named Norah are alive today?

An estimated 33 thousand people named Norah are alive in the United States, based on 33,998 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Norah mean?

A female given name, a pseudo-Hebrew spelling of Nora, diminutive of Eleonora or Honora.

How popular is the name Norah in 2025?

Norah ranked #262 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,191 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Norah?

33,998 babies have been named Norah in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Norah most popular?

Norah peaked in 2017, when 2,156 newborns received the name.

Is Norah a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Norah rising or falling?

Norah is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Norah become more popular?

Norah is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 965 girls named Norah in 2030, which would rank around #316. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Norah?

Well-known people named Norah include Norah Jones (musician).

Names like Norah

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

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