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Nora

Diminutive of Honora or Eleonora, Latin
"honor or meaning unknown"
Sophie Kihm
By Sophie Kihm
Updated Thu Mar 13 2025

Nora Origin and Meaning

The name Nora is a girl's name of Irish origin meaning "honor or meaning unknown".

Nora is a lovely, refined name that conjures up images of Belle Epoch ladies in fur-trimmed coats skating in Central Park. Long seen as a quintessentially Irish name though its roots are not in Ireland, Nora is a quietly stylish favorite that's tiptoed to the top of the popularity ladder.

Nora has two separate origin stories, as a derivative of both Honora and Eleanor. The Irish and Anglo-Norman version derives from Honora, based on the Latin word honor. The Hungarians spawned Nora as a short form of Eleonora, a variation of Eleanor.

One of Nora's most prominent contemporary namesakes is the late witty writer Nora Ephron. Other notable Noras are the independent Ibsen heroine of A Doll's House, and the female half of the witty Nick and Nora Charles duo, adding up to a most desirable choice.

It can also be spelled Norah, as in Norah Jones.

# 25 in the US

Nora Rank in US Top 1000

# 26 on Nameberry

Nora Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Nora

20 Names Similar to Nora

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Nora.

Famous People Named Nora

  • Nora Fatehi
    Indian Actress and Dancer
  • Nora Ephron
    American film director/producer
  • Eleanor Marie "Nora" Roberts
    American novelist
  • Nora Louise Kuzma
    birth name of American actress Traci Lords
  • Nora Eddington
    American actress; wife of actor Errol Flynn
  • Nora Istrefi
    Albanian Kosovar singer
  • Nora Alicia Oritz Salinas
    Mexican actress
  • Nora Miao
    Hong Kong actress
  • Nora Connolly O'Brien
    Irish author and Senator
  • Nora Barnacle
    wife and muse of novelist James Joyce
  • Nora Lee Guthrie
    daughter of singer Woody Guthrie
  • Nora Arnezeder
    French actress
  • Nora Jansen
    inspiration for Alex Vause on TV's "Orange is the New Black"
  • Nora Lum aka Awkwafina
    American rapper
  • Nora Angela Zehetner
    American actress
  • Nora Volkow
    Mexican,American psychiatrist; great,granddaughter of Soviet leader Leon Trotsky
  • Nora Aunor (born Nora Cabaltera Villamayor)
    Filipina actress
  • Nora Kirkpatrick
    American actress and musician
  • Nora Eloise Dunn
    American actress/comedienne
  • Norberta Elisabeth Maria Assunta Josefine Georgine et omnes sancti "Nora
    " Princess of Liechtenstein, Dowager Marquesa de Mariño
  • Nora Hewitt
    makeup artist and winner of Season 9 of "Face Off"
  • Nora Ellis (b. 2004)
    daughter of actor Tom Ellis
  • Nora Edman (b. 2008)
    daughter of footballer Erik Edman
  • Nora Torres (b. 2009)
    daughter of Spanish footballer Fernando Torres
  • Nora Kara Kennedy (b. 2013)
    daughter of American politician Patrick Kennedy
  • Nora Holroyd (b. 2015)
    daughter of actors Allison Munn and Scott Holroyd
  • Nora Elizabeth Egan (b. 2016)
    daughter of TV chef Kelsey Nixon and Robby Egan
  • Nora Anne Quoirin
    British Irish,French schoolgirl that disappeared from hotel and found dead n Malaysia

The name Nora in Pop Culture

  • Nora Allen
    character in DC Universe
  • Nora Fries
    character in DC Universe
  • Nora Arnold
    character in Enid Blyton's Secret Series
  • Nora Baker
    eldest child in the "Cheaper by the Dozen" films
  • Nora Braverman
    character on TV's "Parenthood"
  • Nora Charles
    main character in "The Thin Man" movies
  • Nora Clark
    character in movie "Step Up"
  • Nora Clayton
    character on TV's "Revolution"
  • Nora Dearly
    character in "Dearly, Departed" series by Lia Habel
  • Nora Durst
    character on TV series "The Leftovers"
  • Nora Estheim
    minor character in video game "Final Fantasy XIII"
  • Nora Gainesborough
    character on TV series 'True Blood'
  • Nora Graham
    character in "Ballet Teacher" by Lee Wyndham
  • Nora Grey
    character in the "Hush Hush" saga by Becca Fitzpatrick
  • Nora Helmer
    character in Henrik Ibsen's "A Doll's House"
  • Nora Montgomery
    character on TV's "American Horror Story"
  • Nora Sergeant
    character on TV's "Being Human"
  • Nora Thunderman
    character on animated series "The Thundermans"
  • Nora Valkyrie
    character voiced by Samantha Ireland on web series "RWBY"
  • Nora Walker
    main character on TV's "Brothers and Sisters"
  • Nora Hildegard
    character on TV series "The Vampire Diaries"
  • Nora
    character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton
  • Nora
    character in the anime "Noragami"
  • Nora
    character in Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs"
  • Nora
    character in novel "The Nest"
  • Nora Martinez
    character in film "The Strain"
  • The Nora
    a society in the video game "Horizon Zero Dawn"
  • Nora Césaire
    character in the animated series "Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir"
  • Nora de Laurentis
    character in The After Series by Anna Todd

International Variations of the name Nora

  • Niall
    Israeli
  • Noreena
    Irish
  • Noora
    Finnish
  • Norlene
    Scottish
  • Norita
    Spanish
  • Noreen
    Irish

The name Nora in Nameberry Blog Posts