Norah

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Girl · Latin, through Irish and English

Norah

Say it: NOR-uh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

A spelling of Nora, a short form of Honora (Latin honor 'honour') and sometimes of Eleanor.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Long used in Ireland, it rose in the US in the 2000s with the singer Norah Jones.

Its wave through time

Popular now

In the United States

26,581 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 2017, about 1 in 799 girls
1,797 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Irish English American

The family of the name

Other spellings: Nora

Irish	Nóra

Famous bearers

Norah Jones, American singer

Names worth a look

PhilomenaGirlGreek, usually explained as 'beloved' (philoumenē) or 'friend of strength' (philos and menos); the first is the more…Victorian · peak 1908

MonaGirlPartly an anglicized form of Irish Muadhnait, from muadh 'noble, good'; also associated with the Mona Lisa, where…Victorian · peak 1935

MollieGirlA pet form of Mary, from Hebrew Miryam, whose meaning is uncertain.Victorian · peak 1886

HonoriaGirlDerived from honor 'honour'.Rome · forgotten

BernadetteGirlFrench feminine diminutive of Bernard, from Germanic bern 'bear' and hart 'hard, brave'.Victorian · peak 1946 · forgotten

MurielGirlProbably from a Celtic name meaning 'sea-bright', from muir 'sea' and geal 'bright'.Middle Ages · peak 1922 · forgotten

NormaGirlPopularised by Bellini's opera Norma (1831), whose heroine's name may be from Latin norma 'rule'; the librettist's…Victorian · peak 1931

NormanBoyGermanic 'north man', originally a name for Scandinavians and later for the people of Normandy.Viking & Saxon · peak 1931

Where this comes from

National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.