Norah

What Norah means

Form of Eleanor, possibly meaning “other”

diminutive of Eleonora || The first known bearer was Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204), Provençal Aliénor, perhaps from Latin alia (“other”) and her mother's name Aenor, its meaning thereby said to be “the other Aenor”.

Source: Wiktionary, “Norah” (revision 89149890) and “Eleanor” (revision 89333856), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Norah?

US: Falling: down from #159 in 2015. England & Wales: Rising: up from #473 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2017, when 2,156 girls got the name (#136 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 1,350 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,299 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 663 baby girls in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in RI (2.85 per 1,000 girls), ND (2.59 per 1,000 girls), NH (2.11 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Norah is #262 in the US and #240 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9+% of US babies named Norah were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

Other spellings

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Nora6,380 US · 616 E&W
• Nori193 US · 16 E&W
• Nyra147 US · 55 E&W
• Noura83 US · 94 E&W
• Noora58 US · 50 E&W
• Nara72 US · 34 E&W
• Nura49 US · 42 E&W
• Nira27 US · 4 E&W

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Norah

Girls

• Stella#52“star”^*
• Ruby#64Editor’s note Up from #83 in 2015 to #64 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 450 US girls in the 2025 records
• Eva#134Editor’s note Down from #76 in 2015 to #134 in 2025 in the US
• Lucy#24“light”^*
• Liliana#78Form of Lilian, possibly meaning “lily”^*
• Evelyn#8Same root as Eileen, possibly meaning “radiance, beauty”^*

For a brother

• Jude#155possibly “praised”^*
• Beckham#168“homestead”^*
• Cash#287Editor’s note More popular in the US than England & Wales: #287 vs #2,014 in 2025
• Lucas#10Editor’s note Up from #16 in 2015 to #10 in 2025 in the US. About 1 in 170 US boys in the 2025 records
• Zayden#213Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 2000, with 11 babies
• Cohen#225Editor’s note Up from #336 in 2015 to #225 in 2025 in the US

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under where there are enough, topped up with common names whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Norah’s. Place names are only included if they are in the top 300. Rank is US 2025.