Popularity of the name Nora, 1880–2025
Nora was at its most popular in 1881, when 498 girls were given the name: about 1 in 180 girls born in the U.S. that year, ranking #55. In 2025, 6,380 girls were named Nora, ranking #20. In all, Social Security counts 193,138 girls named Nora since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 784 boys named Nora. Its peak falls in the earliest years of the records, and counts from before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card.
- Peak year
- 1881
- Rank in 1881
- #55
- Babies in 1881
- 498
- Rank in 2025
- #20
- Total since 1880
- 193,138
Where it stands now
Over the last ten years it has climbed from #41 in 2015 to #20 in 2025, with 5,330 girls named Nora in 2015 and 6,380 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Nora ranked highest in the 2020s so far, at #28, with 36,567 girls given the name that decade. It started at #56 in the 1880s.
Every 20 years in the records: 471 in 1880 (#55), 919 in 1900 (#83), 1,477 in 1920 (#157), 843 in 1940 (#209), 1,345 in 1960 (#237), 571 in 1980 (#400), 540 in 2000 (#500) and 5,583 in 2020 (#30).
Highs and lows
The most girls given the name in a single year was 6,380, in 2025. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more girls for 2025 than for 1881, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank in any year was #20, first reached in 2025.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 girls named Nora, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 471 | #55 |
| 1881 | 498 | #55 |
| 1882 | 539 | #58 |
| 1883 | 589 | #55 |
| 1884 | 648 | #56 |
| 1885 | 670 | #56 |
| 1886 | 708 | #56 |
| 1887 | 735 | #56 |
| 1888 | 832 | #61 |
| 1889 | 831 | #60 |
| 1890 | 835 | #63 |
| 1891 | 801 | #63 |
| 1892 | 899 | #63 |
| 1893 | 825 | #67 |
| 1894 | 854 | #68 |
| 1895 | 846 | #70 |
| 1896 | 844 | #71 |
| 1897 | 812 | #71 |
| 1898 | 868 | #74 |
| 1899 | 709 | #80 |
| 1900 | 919 | #83 |
| 1901 | 727 | #81 |
| 1902 | 724 | #86 |
| 1903 | 724 | #87 |
| 1904 | 698 | #93 |
| 1905 | 742 | #92 |
| 1906 | 644 | #101 |
| 1907 | 676 | #104 |
| 1908 | 648 | #110 |
| 1909 | 670 | #107 |
| 1910 | 753 | #111 |
| 1911 | 779 | #116 |
| 1912 | 882 | #129 |
| 1913 | 890 | #135 |
| 1914 | 1,038 | #143 |
| 1915 | 1,293 | #144 |
| 1916 | 1,314 | #154 |
| 1917 | 1,360 | #154 |
| 1918 | 1,382 | #161 |
| 1919 | 1,372 | #161 |
| 1920 | 1,477 | #157 |
| 1921 | 1,350 | #167 |
| 1922 | 1,219 | #180 |
| 1923 | 1,221 | #180 |
| 1924 | 1,335 | #172 |
| 1925 | 1,317 | #171 |
| 1926 | 1,203 | #176 |
| 1927 | 1,078 | #189 |
| 1928 | 1,082 | #190 |
| 1929 | 1,016 | #193 |
| 1930 | 1,015 | #190 |
| 1931 | 904 | #202 |
| 1932 | 969 | #189 |
| 1933 | 891 | #193 |
| 1934 | 888 | #200 |
| 1935 | 910 | #192 |
| 1936 | 791 | #210 |
| 1937 | 842 | #202 |
| 1938 | 857 | #203 |
| 1939 | 859 | #204 |
| 1940 | 843 | #209 |
| 1941 | 845 | #209 |
| 1942 | 837 | #228 |
| 1943 | 856 | #230 |
| 1944 | 841 | #225 |
| 1945 | 833 | #228 |
| 1946 | 970 | #229 |
| 1947 | 1,096 | #225 |
| 1948 | 1,086 | #225 |
| 1949 | 1,198 | #218 |
| 1950 | 1,116 | #225 |
| 1951 | 1,160 | #223 |
| 1952 | 1,122 | #234 |
| 1953 | 1,148 | #238 |
| 1954 | 1,161 | #237 |
| 1955 | 1,047 | #255 |
| 1956 | 1,170 | #244 |
| 1957 | 1,162 | #250 |
| 1958 | 1,178 | #253 |
| 1959 | 1,276 | #241 |
| 1960 | 1,345 | #237 |
| 1961 | 1,120 | #272 |
| 1962 | 1,076 | #274 |
| 1963 | 1,067 | #278 |
| 1964 | 1,050 | #279 |
| 1965 | 881 | #302 |
| 1966 | 850 | #299 |
| 1967 | 727 | #325 |
| 1968 | 696 | #329 |
| 1969 | 709 | #336 |
| 1970 | 676 | #365 |
| 1971 | 624 | #375 |
| 1972 | 604 | #364 |
| 1973 | 573 | #369 |
| 1974 | 587 | #366 |
| 1975 | 552 | #377 |
| 1976 | 517 | #396 |
| 1977 | 517 | #402 |
| 1978 | 584 | #366 |
| 1979 | 536 | #404 |
| 1980 | 571 | #400 |
| 1981 | 551 | #405 |
| 1982 | 564 | #406 |
| 1983 | 521 | #414 |
| 1984 | 559 | #391 |
| 1985 | 541 | #412 |
| 1986 | 485 | #445 |
| 1987 | 538 | #414 |
| 1988 | 606 | #397 |
| 1989 | 596 | #415 |
| 1990 | 588 | #431 |
| 1991 | 575 | #444 |
| 1992 | 524 | #470 |
| 1993 | 526 | #478 |
| 1994 | 530 | #474 |
| 1995 | 545 | #463 |
| 1996 | 557 | #449 |
| 1997 | 563 | #451 |
| 1998 | 540 | #476 |
| 1999 | 584 | #455 |
| 2000 | 540 | #500 |
| 2001 | 622 | #448 |
| 2002 | 601 | #471 |
| 2003 | 830 | #367 |
| 2004 | 1,043 | #306 |
| 2005 | 1,197 | #276 |
| 2006 | 1,385 | #245 |
| 2007 | 1,474 | #242 |
| 2008 | 1,560 | #216 |
| 2009 | 1,670 | #198 |
| 2010 | 1,939 | #159 |
| 2011 | 2,235 | #137 |
| 2012 | 2,890 | #108 |
| 2013 | 3,508 | #83 |
| 2014 | 4,741 | #49 |
| 2015 | 5,330 | #41 |
| 2016 | 5,593 | #36 |
| 2017 | 6,067 | #29 |
| 2018 | 5,837 | #30 |
| 2019 | 5,936 | #29 |
| 2020 | 5,583 | #30 |
| 2021 | 6,281 | #27 |
| 2022 | 6,148 | #28 |
| 2023 | 6,027 | #24 |
| 2024 | 6,148 | #22 |
| 2025 | 6,380 | #20 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.