Girl's name
Norah
Say it NOR-uh
Occitan origin from Eleanor, perhaps other
2 syllables
Where Norah is loved, common and rare
Common across the Netherlands, Ontario and British Columbia. Rare in Quebec, the UK, France and eight more places.
1 in 607 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
The Netherlands 73rdOntario 95thBritish Columbia 98th
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 16 of the 40 official lists, among them the Netherlands (73rd), Ontario (95th) and British Columbia (98th).
Show all 16 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Netherlands | 73rd 2025 | 179 | about 1 in 341 |
| Ontario province | 95th 2024 | 107 | about 1 in 509 |
| British Columbia province | 98th 2023 | 29 | about 1 in 412 |
| Quebec province | 140th 2025 | 39 | about 1 in 667 |
| Scotland | 154th 2025 | 27 | 1 in 663 |
| Northern Ireland | 154th 2025 | 12 | 1 in 607 |
| France | 230th 2025 | 245 | 1 in 1,171 |
| England and Wales | 240th 2025 | 195 | 1 in 1,299 |
| Ireland | 304th 2025 | 13 | 1 in 1,625 |
| Switzerland | 409th 2025 | 17 | 1 in 2,000 |
| Norway | 424th 2025 | 6 | 1 in 3,633 |
| Italy | 497th 2024 | 25 | 1 in 7,167 |
| Catalonia region | 526th 2025 | 5 | 1 in 3,854 |
| Sweden | 558th 2025 | 10 | about 1 in 4,017 |
| Cologne city | 630th 2023 | 1 | about 1 in 6,143 |
| Austria | 742nd 2025 | 5 | 1 in 7,144 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, New Zealand, Berlin, Munich, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Turkey (top 30), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria). How we count, and every source
About the name
Norah is a spelling of Nora, a short form of Eleanor. Through Eleanor it goes back to an Occitan name whose meaning is uncertain, perhaps 'other'.
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Two syllables, NOR-uh, with a silent h at the end. Nora is the simpler spelling, Eleonora is a longer relative, and Noora and Dinorah are variants.
Norah is used in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, and in the Netherlands, France and Switzerland. The French records place its peak in 2023, but across all the places where it is tracked it is falling more often than rising. The Nora spelling is usually the more popular of the two, though both share the same sound and history.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
Over time
Over five years: rising in 2 of 13 regions, falling in 5.
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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 | 347 | 327 | 283 | 283 | 283 | 270 | 232 | 244 | 262 | 240 |
| Scotland | 311 | 304 | 172 | 258 | 167 | 191 | 208 | 173 | 171 | 154 |
| Northern Ireland | 353 | 215 | 273 | 200 | 192 | 190 | 175 | 171 | 161 | 154 |
| Ireland | 390 | 524 | 336 | 260 | 294 | 464 | 389 | 237 | 294 | 304 |
| Ontario | 86 | 63 | 70 | 74 | 76 | 77 | 81 | 97 | 95 | |
| British Columbia | 82 | 59 | 84 | 78 | 84 | 67 | 99 | 98 | ||
| South Australia | 230 | 223 | ||||||||
| Quebec | 153 | 128 | 191 | 176 | 119 | 114 | 114 | 99 | 106 | 140 |
| France | 225 | 189 | 179 | 187 | 188 | 196 | 206 | 177 | 209 | 230 |
| The Netherlands | 60 | 64 | 52 | 60 | 81 | 70 | 71 | 74 | 73 | |
| Austria | 603 | 370 | 454 | 599 | 736 | 507 | 859 | 487 | 552 | 742 |
| Switzerland | 188 | 202 | 211 | 297 | 319 | 289 | 378 | 244 | 357 | 409 |
| Berlin | 985 | 1007 | 436 | |||||||
| Munich | 217 | |||||||||
| Norway | 156 | 198 | 281 | 232 | 243 | 284 | 271 | 322 | 332 | 424 |
| Sweden | 322 | 382 | 309 | 321 | 492 | 437 | 501 | 570 | 527 | 558 |
| Catalonia | 404 | 260 | 370 | 613 | 373 | 628 | 520 | 601 | 526 | |
| Italy | 643 | 508 | 522 | 468 | 497 |
England and Wales, 1997 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 240 | 195 | 77.0 |
| 2024 | 262 | 183 | 70.9 |
| 2023 | 244 | 186 | 72.5 |
| 2022 | 232 | 202 | 76.7 |
| 2021 | 270 | 176 | 64.2 |
| 2020 | 283 | 164 | 61.1 |
| 2019 | 283 | 173 | 61.8 |
| 2018 | 283 | 168 | 58.3 |
| 2017 | 327 | 147 | 49.1 |
| 2016 | 347 | 138 | 44.9 |
| 2015 | 473 | 92 | 29.9 |
| 2014 | 521 | 81 | 26.4 |
| 2013 | 663 | 60 | 19.5 |
| 2012 | 998 | 36 | 11.2 |
| 2011 | 894 | 40 | 12.4 |
| 2010 | 1040 | 32 | 10.0 |
| 2009 | 1139 | 27 | 8.6 |
| 2008 | 1344 | 21 | 6.7 |
| 2007 | 1296 | 21 | 6.9 |
| 2006 | 1435 | 17 | 5.7 |
| 2005 | 1589 | 14 | 4.9 |
| 2004 | 1715 | 12 | 4.2 |
| 2003 | 3594 | 4 | 1.4 |
| 2001 | 2783 | 5 | 1.9 |
| 2000 | 3912 | 3 | 1.1 |
| 1999 | 3900 | 3 | 1.1 |
| 1998 | 3846 | 3 | 1.0 |
| 1997 | 2738 | 5 | 1.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
France since 1925
Half of the babies named Norah in France since 1925 were born in or after 2014. First recorded in 1926. Her peak year there: 2023, at 104.4 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Norah 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 Norah
1 in 307 in England and Wales
1 in 587 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 993 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 232 in Scotland
1 in 778 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 320 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 1,583 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 1,627 in Scotland
Rose and fell with Norah.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Norah.
Middle names for Norah
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Norah Grace
2-1 beats · initials NG
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Norah Olivia
2-4 beats · initials NO · Norah slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Norah slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Norah Sophia
2-3 beats · initials NS
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Norah Maria
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Norah Rose
2-1 beats · initials NR
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Norah Emily
2-3 beats · initials NE · Norah slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Norah slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Norah Julia
2-3 beats · initials NJ
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Norah Miriam
2-3 beats · initials NM
Changes the beat after Norah: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Norah
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 813 in Ireland
94% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 924 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 852 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 334 in England and Wales
92% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 1,625 in Ireland
92% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 778 in Scotland
92% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 606 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
1 in 636 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Norah across countries and decades.
Famous people named Norah
Norah Jones, Norah Jeruto, Norah Al Faiz, Norah Lange, Norah O'Donnell and Norah Neilson Gray.
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American musician (born 1979)
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Kenyan female steeplechase runner born 1995
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Saudi deputy education minister (born 1956) born 1954
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Argentine author (1905–1972)
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American television journalist who is currently a senior correspondent on CBS News and contributing correspondent on 60 Minutes born 1974
-
British artist of the Glasgow School (1882-1931)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Norah
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
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How popular is Norah?
Her best rank is No. 73 in the Netherlands in 2025, about 1 in 341 girls. She is in the published lists of 16 of our 40 regions.
What does Norah mean?
Norah takes her meaning from Eleanor: "perhaps other", per Wiktionary.
How do you pronounce Norah?
NOR-uh, with 2 syllables.
Is Norah getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 2 of 13 regions, falling in 5.
Which sister names go with Norah?
The deck's top five sisters for Norah: Maryam, Amira, Maia, Lyla and Gabriella. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.