Girls' name · since 1880
Nora
193,138 babies named Nora in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 2025. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #204 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #20 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 193,138
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Yes -- Nora is the #20 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 193,138 recorded since 1880.
Nora has 193,138 recorded births among girls since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #20 as of the latest data, more common than 99.9% of girls, busiest in the 2010s -- 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.
- #204 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #20 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 193,138 born since 1880
- 2010s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Nora ranks #204 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #20 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 193,138 born since 1880, peaking in the 2010s.
- #204 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #20 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 193,138
- born since 1880
- 2010s
- peak decade
Nora's 193,138 recorded births place it above 99.71% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
51 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Texas.
How Nora compares
193,138 Top 2% higher than 98% 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
Nora's all-time total is 514x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Nora | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 193,138 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 6,380 | 21 | 19,840 |
Nora's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Divide Nora's SSA record in two at 1953 and the more recent half accounts for 65% of all births, the earlier half the remaining 35%, consistent with a name still gaining ground rather than fading. Its calmest year was 1880, with only 471 births recorded -- set against the 2025 peak of 6,380, that's the full swing in one name's fortunes.
Nora popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (2025)
- 6,380
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Nora popularity over time - boys
784 total births recorded since 1880 (Nora as boys' name)
Nora by decade
2010s is the heaviest window (44,076 births, 23% of the file).
2010s was Nora's strongest decade.
44,076 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 23% of all-time use.
Nora births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 6,521
1880s
6,521 births
- 1890s 8,293
1890s
8,293 births
- 1900s 7,172
1900s
7,172 births
- 1910s 11,063
1910s
11,063 births
- 1920s 12,298
1920s
12,298 births
- 1930s 8,926
1930s
8,926 births
- 1940s 9,405
1940s
9,405 births
- 1950s 11,540
1950s
11,540 births
- 1960s 9,521
1960s
9,521 births
- 1970s 5,770
1970s
5,770 births
- 1980s 5,532
1980s
5,532 births
- 1990s 5,532
1990s
5,532 births
- 2000s 10,922
2000s
10,922 births
- 2010s
2010s
44,076 births
- 2020s
2020s
36,567 births
What this shows Peak: 2010s at 44,076 births (23% of all-time use).
How Nora 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 Nora's total volume
Nora by state
Where Nora concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Texas | | 13,506 | 7.0% |
| #2 | California | | 11,879 | 6.2% |
| #3 | New York | | 11,276 | 5.8% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 8,750 | 4.5% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 8,143 | 4.2% |
| #6 | Ohio | | 7,861 | 4.1% |
| #7 | Michigan | | 5,997 | 3.1% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 5,909 | 3.1% |
13,506 of 193,138 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.
Nora appears in 51 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
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What to do with Nora's data
- Nora's usage has stayed within range of its 2010s decade-level peak (44,076 total births) through the 2020s (36,567) -- a comparatively stable name, not a fading trend.
- Texas records the most Noras (13,506 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 Nora
Nearby Names Like Nora
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Nora
Compare Nora side by side: Nora vs Norma Nora vs Norah Nora vs Noreen
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Nora
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Nora: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~2025)
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 Nora 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.