Girl's name
Nora
Say it NOR-uh
Occitan origin from Eleanor, perhaps other
2 syllables
Where Nora is loved, common and rare
Loved in the Netherlands, Norway, Munich and five more places. Common across Ontario, Austria, British Columbia and 21 more places. Rare in Poland and Israel.
1 in 173 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
The Netherlands 3rdNorway 3rdMunich 4th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 34 of the 40 official lists, among them the Netherlands (3rd), Norway (3rd) and Munich (4th).
Show all 34 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | 3rd 2025 | 640 | about 1 in 95 |
| Norway | 3rd 2025 | 357 | 1 in 61 |
| Munich city | 4th 2025 | 69 | about 1 in 61 |
| Switzerland | 5th 2025 | 265 | 1 in 128 |
| Ontario province | 14th 2024 | 332 | about 1 in 164 |
| Austria | 16th 2025 | 346 | 1 in 103 |
| British Columbia province | 17th 2023 | 82 | about 1 in 146 |
| Berlin city | 25th 2023 | 79 | about 1 in 184 |
| Catalonia region | 26th 2025 | 160 | 1 in 120 |
| Cologne city | 29th 2023 | 30 | about 1 in 205 |
| Hungary as Nóra | 33rd 2025 | 287 | rank only |
| Spain | 43rd 2024 | 728 | rank only |
| Northern Ireland | 43rd 2025 | 42 | 1 in 173 |
| Sweden | 46th 2025 | 199 | about 1 in 202 |
| Victoria state | 46th 2025 | 132 | rank only |
| South Australia state | 47th 2025 | 32 | rank only |
| New South Wales state | 52nd 2025 | 128 | rank only |
| Quebec province | 53rd 2025 | 97 | about 1 in 268 |
| Queensland state | 55th 2025 | 91 | rank only |
| Italy | 67th 2024 | 579 | 1 in 309 |
| New Zealand | 67th 2025 | 54 | rank only |
| England and Wales | 75th 2025 | 616 | 1 in 411 |
| Ireland | 76th 2025 | 82 | 1 in 258 |
| France | 84th 2025 | 570 | 1 in 503 |
| Scotland | 86th 2025 | 49 | 1 in 365 |
| Poland | 461st 2025 | 5 | 1 in 23,958 |
| Israel נורה | 552nd 2024 | 16 | about 1 in 4,905 |
| Denmark | 4th 2025 | 416 | rank only |
| Nova Scotia province | 5th 2025 | 24 | rank only |
| Estonia | 9th 2025 | 52 | rank only |
| Leipzig city | 9th 2025 | 20 | about 1 in 131 |
| Bonn city | 19th 2025 | 19 | about 1 in 159 |
| Croatia | 23rd 2025 | 159 | rank only |
| Rostock city | 62nd 2025 | 3 | about 1 in 328 |
Rare, below the listed names: Slovenia.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30) and Argentina (top 20).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Israel publishes names in Hebrew script. The Latin spelling shown is our transliteration; the published form is shown beside it.
Sources: Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Belügyminisztérium, Nyilvántartások (kormany.hu) (Hungary); INE (Instituto Nacional de Estadística) (Spain); NISRA (Northern Ireland); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Registry of BDM Victoria (DataVic) (Victoria); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages (Data.NSW) (New South Wales); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); Queensland Registry of BDM (Qld Open Data Portal) (Queensland); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); Central Bureau of Statistics (Israel) (Israel); Statistics Denmark (DST) (Denmark); Nova Scotia Vital Statistics (data.novascotia.ca) (Nova Scotia); Siseministeerium (rahvastikuregister) (Estonia); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Ministarstvo pravosuđa, uprave i digitalne transformacije (Matica rođenih) (Croatia); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
Most often a short form of Eleanor, and more rarely of Honora, Nora has deep roots. Through Eleanor it goes back to an Occitan name whose meaning is uncertain, perhaps 'other'.
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Two syllables, NOR-uh, give it a crisp, compact sound. Norah is the common alternative spelling, Nóra is the accented form, and Leonora is a longer relative. Noor and Noora are listed among its variants.
Nora is a top-five name in the Netherlands, Norway and Denmark and is also well used in Ontario and British Columbia. It is now rising in far more places than it is falling, and its highest point in the French records came in 2023, so it is very much a name on the way up.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- NOR-uh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
- from Eleanor,
perhaps other
- Origin
- Occitan
- Other spellings
- Eleanor
- Norah
- Noor
- Leonora
- Noortje
- Ora
- Noora
- Dinora
- Nohra
Counted together here: Nóra.
Etymology
Short form of Eleanor or, rarely, of Honora.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 12 of 27 regions, falling in 3.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 283 | 250 | 197 | 160 | 153 | 123 | 119 | 103 | 86 | 75 |
| Scotland | 303 | 275 | 225 | 182 | 157 | 145 | 163 | 152 | 72 | 86 |
| Northern Ireland | 175 | 190 | 151 | 98 | 129 | 64 | 98 | 72 | 44 | 43 |
| Ireland | 153 | 142 | 131 | 131 | 126 | 130 | 103 | 95 | 84 | 76 |
| Ontario | 37 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 17 | 14 | |
| British Columbia | 55 | 42 | 40 | 33 | 28 | 19 | 17 | 17 | ||
| Nova Scotia | 20 | 5 | 11 | 10 | 13 | 13 | 5 | |||
| New South Wales | 89 | 82 | 58 | 69 | 52 | |||||
| Victoria | 82 | 91 | 65 | 59 | 46 | |||||
| Queensland | 75 | 65 | 55 | |||||||
| South Australia | 273 | 320 | 69 | 96 | 95 | 47 | ||||
| New Zealand | 67 | |||||||||
| Quebec | 149 | 130 | 124 | 138 | 98 | 87 | 58 | 54 | 49 | 53 |
| France | 133 | 115 | 116 | 123 | 100 | 104 | 88 | 86 | 92 | 84 |
| The Netherlands | 13 | 10 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | |
| Austria | 28 | 27 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 16 | 16 |
| Switzerland | 15 | 21 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 5 |
| Berlin | 51 | 32 | 35 | 26 | 21 | 26 | 31 | 25 | ||
| Munich | 53 | 20 | 29 | 26 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 21 | 30 | 4 |
| Cologne | 55 | 51 | 47 | 35 | 31 | 18 | 29 | 29 | ||
| Bonn | 46 | 28 | 44 | 15 | 31 | 27 | 30 | 19 | 23 | 19 |
| Leipzig | 30 | 22 | 20 | 27 | 30 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 23 | 9 |
| Rostock | 42 | 58 | 22 | 36 | 37 | 6 | 21 | 16 | 31 | 62 |
| Norway | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| Sweden | 57 | 33 | 28 | 31 | 34 | 35 | 37 | 41 | 33 | 46 |
| Denmark | 28 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 4 |
| Spain | 38 | 45 | 47 | 47 | 47 | 43 | 46 | 42 | 43 | |
| Catalonia | 25 | 29 | 26 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 28 | 26 |
| Italy | 98 | 93 | 85 | 80 | 71 | 64 | 69 | 66 | 67 | |
| Poland | 711 | 574 | 520 | 616 | 570 | 714 | 461 | |||
| Hungary | 11 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 16 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 33 |
| Estonia | 17 | 4 | 8 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 |
| Croatia | 32 | 29 | 23 | |||||||
| Israel | 435 | 402 | 466 | 447 | 425 | 458 | 447 | 404 | 552 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 75 | 616 | 243.2 |
| 2024 | 86 | 549 | 212.8 |
| 2023 | 103 | 465 | 181.2 |
| 2022 | 119 | 440 | 167.0 |
| 2021 | 123 | 406 | 148.2 |
| 2020 | 153 | 326 | 121.5 |
| 2019 | 160 | 314 | 112.1 |
| 2018 | 197 | 267 | 92.6 |
| 2017 | 250 | 199 | 66.5 |
| 2016 | 283 | 177 | 57.6 |
| 2015 | 305 | 158 | 51.3 |
| 2014 | 389 | 113 | 36.8 |
| 2013 | 479 | 88 | 28.5 |
| 2012 | 580 | 73 | 22.7 |
| 2011 | 702 | 55 | 17.1 |
| 2010 | 695 | 53 | 16.5 |
| 2009 | 771 | 46 | 14.7 |
| 2008 | 995 | 31 | 9.8 |
| 2007 | 963 | 31 | 10.1 |
| 2006 | 890 | 33 | 11.0 |
| 2005 | 866 | 32 | 11.1 |
| 2004 | 912 | 29 | 10.1 |
| 2003 | 1129 | 20 | 7.2 |
| 2002 | 1032 | 21 | 7.9 |
| 2001 | 992 | 21 | 7.8 |
| 2000 | 1139 | 17 | 6.2 |
| 1999 | 1018 | 20 | 7.1 |
| 1998 | 1392 | 13 | 4.5 |
| 1997 | 1074 | 18 | 6.1 |
| 1996 | 1031 | 19 | 6.4 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Nora in France since 1925 were born in or after 1998. First recorded in 1926. Her peak year there: 2023, at 202.1 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Nora per 100,000 girls born in France, by five-year period. Her 2023 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (1900-2025), Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0.
Sister names for Nora
1 in 197 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 271 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 271 in Ireland
1 in 228 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 251 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 754 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 728 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
1 in 729 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Nora.
Middle names for Nora
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Nora Grace
2-1 beats · initials NG
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Nora Olivia
2-4 beats · initials NO · Nora slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Nora slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Nora Sophia
2-3 beats · initials NS
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Nora Maria
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Nora Rose
2-1 beats · initials NR
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Nora Emily
2-3 beats · initials NE · Nora slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Nora slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Nora Julia
2-3 beats · initials NJ
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Nora Miriam
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Nora: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Nora
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 166 in Northern Ireland
94% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 154 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 95 in Northern Ireland
92% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 761 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 334 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 491 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 1,243 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
1 in 571 in Ireland
91% alike: moves with Nora across countries and decades.
Famous people named Nora
Nora Ephron, Nora Fatehi, Nora Gjakova, Nora Arnezeder, Nora Zehetner, Nora Mørk, Nora Tschirner and Nora Brockstedt.
Show all 8Show less
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American film director and writer (1941–2012)
-
Canadian actress (1992-present)
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Kosovo judoka born 1992
-
French actress and singer born 1989
-
American actress born 1981
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Norwegian handball player born 1991
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German actress born 1981
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Norwegian singer and musician (1923-2015)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Nora
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Nora?
Her best rank is No. 3 in Norway in 2025, about 1 in 61 girls. She is in the published lists of 34 of our 40 regions.
What does Nora mean?
Nora takes her meaning from Eleanor: "perhaps other", per Wiktionary.
How do you pronounce Nora?
NOR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Nora getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 12 of 27 regions, falling in 3.
Which sister names go with Nora?
The deck's top five sisters for Nora: Alice, Sarah, Emilia, Eva and Lucia. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.