Girls' name · since 1880
Dora
105,930 babies named Dora in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1921. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #361 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,387 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 105,930
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
105,930 babies have been named Dora since 1880, making it today's #2387 girls' name.
Dora has 105,930 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2387 as of the latest data, more common than 86% of girls, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #361 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #2,387 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 105,930 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Dora ranks #361 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,387 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 105,930 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #361 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #2,387 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 105,930
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Dora's 105,930 recorded births place it above 99.5% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
50 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Dora compares
105,930 Top 3% higher than 97% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Dora's all-time total is 282x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Dora | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 105,930 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 2,026 | 21 | 19,840 |
Dora's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Dora's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 23% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 77%, consistent with a name more common in the past than in recent years. Its calmest year was 2023, with only 68 births recorded -- set against the 1921 peak of 2,026, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Dora popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1921)
- 2,026
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Dora popularity over time - boys
550 total births recorded since 1880 (Dora as boys' name)
Dora by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (18,335 births, 17% of the file).
1920s was Dora's strongest decade.
18,335 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 17% of all-time use.
Dora births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 7,288
1880s
7,288 births
- 1890s
1890s
8,684 births
- 1900s
1900s
8,011 births
- 1910s
1910s
14,012 births
- 1920s
1920s
18,335 births
- 1930s
1930s
12,387 births
- 1940s
1940s
9,717 births
- 1950s
1950s
9,285 births
- 1960s
1960s
7,418 births
- 1970s 3,941
1970s
3,941 births
- 1980s 2,378
1980s
2,378 births
- 1990s 1,734
1990s
1,734 births
- 2000s 1,384
2000s
1,384 births
- 2010s 919
2010s
919 births
- 2020s 437
2020s
437 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 18,335 births (17% of all-time use).
How Dora compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Dora's total volume
Dora by state
Where Dora concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 14,075 | 13.3% |
| #2 | California | | 6,046 | 5.7% |
| #3 | New York | | 3,898 | 3.7% |
| #4 | North Carolina | | 3,331 | 3.1% |
| #5 | Kentucky | | 3,039 | 2.9% |
| #6 | Pennsylvania | | 2,961 | 2.8% |
| #7 | Mississippi | | 2,596 | 2.5% |
| #8 | Georgia | | 2,539 | 2.4% |
14,075 of 105,930 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 50 reporting states.
Dora appears in 50 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Dora? ▼
Where does Dora sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Dora most popular? ▼
Where is Dora most popular? ▼
How long has the name Dora been used? ▼
What names are similar to Dora? ▼
What to do with Dora's data
- Dora's decade-level peak was the 1920s (18,335 total births); usage has since declined to 437 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Texas records the most Doras (14,075 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Texas names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Dora
Nearby Names Like Dora
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Dora
Compare Dora side by side: Dora vs Dorothy Dora vs Doris Dora vs Doreen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Dora
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Dora: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1921)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Dora draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.