girls' name ★ peaked 2019

Zora

Gender Girl Rank 2025 #969 Trend → Stable

Zora is a given name with origins across multiple cultures, most prominently Slavic, Arabic, Hebrew, and West African.

Rank 2025
#969
among girls · ↓51 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
273
named Zora · -6% vs 2024
How common
1 in 6,088
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2019
353 babies
All-time total
10,248
#1,646 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Zora popularity over time

10,248 babies have been named Zora 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
0.130.250.380.518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 415 – 415 42 – #258
1890s 626 5 631 63 +52% #328
1900s 679 – 679 68 +8% #338
1910s 1,155 11 1,166 117 +72% #455
1920s 1,103 – 1,103 110 -5% #616
1930s 651 – 651 65 -41% #731
1940s 435 – 435 44 -33% #1,019
1950s 290 – 290 29 -33% #1,438
1960s 132 5 137 14 -53% #2,838
1970s 93 – 93 9 -32% #4,310
1980s 63 – 63 6 -32% #5,542
1990s 176 – 176 18 +179% #4,347
2000s 877 – 877 88 +398% #1,651
2010s 1,662 – 1,662 166 +90% #788
2020s (to 2025) 1,845 25 1,870 312 +88% #824

Where Zora 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 263 0.16 outside top 500
2027 261 0.16 outside top 500
2028 260 0.16 outside top 500
2029 260 0.16 outside top 500
2030 259 0.16 outside top 500

Where Zora is most popular

Girls named Zora per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.189 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Maryland, and Delaware.

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 Zora 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
District of Columbia 29 2.45 +1191%
Maryland 64 0.604 +219%
Delaware 5 0.441 +133%
Georgia 95 0.418 +121%
Virginia 64 0.375 +98%
North Carolina 80 0.351 +85%
South Carolina 31 0.345 +82%
Pennsylvania 66 0.279 +47%
Michigan 50 0.275 +45%
New York 106 0.268 +41%
Washington 38 0.263 +39%
Oregon 17 0.261 +38%
New Jersey 44 0.244 +29%
Indiana 33 0.235 +24%
Missouri 27 0.224 +18%
Ohio 53 0.223 +18%
Alabama 20 0.213 +12%
Louisiana 18 0.206 +9%
Florida 79 0.185 ≈ national
Illinois 42 0.183 ≈ national
Minnesota 19 0.176 -7%
California 135 0.161 -15%
Texas 107 0.133 -30%
Tennessee 20 0.126 -33%
Massachusetts 14 0.116 -39%
Connecticut 6 0.103 -46%
Kansas 5 0.087 -54%
Colorado 8 0.072 -62%
Arizona 7 0.050 -74%
Wisconsin 5 0.049 -74%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Zora

Zora is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #969 in 2025 with 264 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 10,248 American babies have been named Zora. Its peak came in 2019, when 353 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 Zora stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Zora?

The median living Zora is about 9 years old; half are between 4 and 22. An estimated 5,500 people named Zora 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.

Zora 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 264 #969 9 #8,906
2024 290 #918 – –
2023 313 #853 6 #12,233
2022 332 #847 10 #8,295
2021 338 #824 – –
2020 308 #875 – –
2019 353 #788 – –
2018 270 #981 – –
2017 206 #1,189 – –
2016 164 #1,419 – –
2015 140 #1,575 – –
2014 139 #1,568 – –
2013 99 #1,989 – –
2012 109 #1,858 – –
2011 94 #2,072 – –
2010 88 #2,219 – –
2009 87 #2,269 – –
2008 112 #1,902 – –
2007 104 #1,987 – –
2006 98 #2,030 – –
2005 98 #1,968 – –
2004 102 #1,870 – –
2003 117 #1,651 – –
2002 62 #2,553 – –
2001 65 #2,437 – –
2000 32 #3,981 – –
1995 24 #4,347 – –
1990 8 #10,192 – –
1985 7 #9,305 – –
1980 13 #5,542 – –
1975 11 #5,515 – –
1970 – – – –
1965 15 #3,400 – –
1960 19 #2,903 – –
1955 34 #1,838 – –
1950 31 #1,719 – –
1945 41 #1,260 – –
1940 49 #1,034 – –
1935 62 #883 – –
1930 93 #731 – –
1925 114 #692 – –
1920 135 #616 – –
1915 169 #475 5 #4,389
1910 57 #542 – –
1905 55 #457 – –
1900 99 #338 – –
1895 55 #377 – –
1890 60 #328 – –
1885 48 #293 – –
1880 28 #304 – –

Famous people named Zora

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

  1. 1 Zora Neale Hurston Zora Neale Hurston American author, anthropologist, filmmaker (1891–1960) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Zora?

The median living Zora is about 9 years old. Half of all living Zoras are between 4 and 22 years old.

How many people named Zora are alive today?

An estimated 5,500 people named Zora are alive in the United States, based on 10,248 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Zora mean?

Zora is a given name with origins across multiple cultures, most prominently Slavic, Arabic, Hebrew, and West African.

How popular is the name Zora in 2025?

Zora ranked #969 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 264 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Zora?

10,248 babies have been named Zora in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Zora most popular?

Zora peaked in 2019, when 353 newborns received the name.

Is Zora a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Zora rising or falling?

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

Will Zora become more popular?

Zora looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 259 girls named Zora in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Zora?

Well-known people named Zora include Zora Neale Hurston (writer).

Names like Zora

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

Compare Zora with similar names → More names starting with Z →