Girls' name · peaked in 1881
Nora name popularity since 1925
153,955 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Nora. Half of them were born in 2011 or earlier, so the typical Nora is about 15 years old in 2026. Nora peaked in 1881 as the #55 name for girls, and it ranked #20 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 153,955
- Named Nora, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1881
- #55 for girls that year
- In 2025
- #20
- for girls in 2025 (6,380 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 99.7% girls
- 153,487 girls · 468 boys
- Most popular in
- Minnesota
- 1.56× its national share
Peak year is the year Nora made up the largest share of US girls, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Nora births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 2025. Measured as a share of all babies, Nora peaked earlier, in 1881.
- Fastest rise: Between 2009 and 2014, Nora became 2.9× more common, from 1 in 1,100 baby girls to 1 in 377.
Shaded on the chart. This compares Nora's share of all US girls five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Nora.
Decade by decade
Babies named Nora in each decade, and its rank among girls' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 5,696 | 58 | – |
| 1930s | 8,926 | 115 | #192 |
| 1940s | 9,405 | 75 | #228 |
| 1950s | 11,540 | 63 | #255 |
| 1960s | 9,521 | 61 | #302 |
| 1970s | 5,770 | 5 | #377 |
| 1980s | 5,532 | 52 | #412 |
| 1990s | 5,532 | 10 | #463 |
| 2000s | 10,922 | 5 | #276 |
| 2010s | 44,076 | 12 | #41 |
| 2020–25 | 36,567 | 12 | #20 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 girls that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
47.8% of babies named Nora from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Gen Alpha years (2013–2025). The full split by generation:
Where Nora is most popular
The index compares Nora's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Nora.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 1.56× | 4,325 |
| New Hampshire | 1.52× | 728 |
| Utah | 1.37× | 1,779 |
| Alaska | 1.36× | 308 |
| Colorado | 1.32× | 2,488 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Nora and were given to at least 1,000 girls from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Girls | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Nora (this page) | 153,487 | 1881 |
| Norah | 33,205 | 2017 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 499 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Nora's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Nora.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Nora (1881).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data