Name of the Day: Nora

Today’s choice was a late 19th century staple and she feels quite fashionable today, too.

Thanks to Photoquilty for suggesting our Name of the Day: Nora.

Nora is usually considered a short form of Eleanor, Elinor, Lenore or Honora, but there’s a case to consider her a variant of the Arabic Noor – meaning light – as well. She’s that rare choice that works as a nickname, but stands alone nicely, too.

If Nora is at all controversial, it’s because of alternate spelling Norah. While the final “h” doesn’t change the pronunciation, it’s often attached. We’re of the opinion that it does little more than commit your child to a lifetime of introducing herself as “Norah with an h,” but it is not uncommon.

She may also face years of answering for the whereabouts of Nick. Dashiell Hammett paired private detective Nick with wealthy socialite Nora back in 1934′s The Thin Man. The novel inspired both movie and television spin-offs.

It might be considered a fading reference today, but you can dress your kids in Nick and Nora pajamas. And your disillusioned teen has probably already seen Michael Cera’s latest indie flick Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist.

A number of successful Noras come to mind, no Nicks required:

Writer Nora Ephron is best known for screenplays When Harry Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle;
Ballerina Nora Kaye achieved success in toe shoes and went on to work as a choreographer and producer in Hollywood;
Nora Darwin Barlow edited and published many of her grandpa Charles’ works;
Famed author James Joyce married adventure-seeking Galway hotel maid Nora Barnacle. A 2000 biopic about Joyce was simply titled Nora;
Grammy winning singer-songwriter Norah Jones is among the most successful recording artists of recent years.

There are plenty of fictional Noras, too. Besides Dashiell Hammett’s Nora Charles, there’s Henrik Ibsen’s Nora Helmer in 1879′s A Doll House. Turn on your television and you might catch Sally Field playing matriarch Nora Walker on Brothers & Sisters.

Nora is also a place name from Zimbabwe to Sweden. One of our favorite Nora sites in the ancient Roman town in Sardinia. Once a center of trade, it’s been abandoned since the 8th century, and some of it is now under the waters of the Mediterranean.

Nora was a popular pick for American parents in the late 19th century. She spent 1880 through 1905 in the Top 100; variant Norah appeared, too. By 2001, she’d fallen to the nearly obscure #501, but in recent years, she’s climbed and today stands at #242. We suspect parents who love Emma and Ava are turning to Nora as a substitute – or perhaps a name for her little sister.

As for Norah, she ranks #470 as of last year. Nearly 1500 girls were called Nora; an additional 678 received Norah on their birth certificates.

Overall, we think she sounds smart, simple and feminine. It’s hard to find fault with Nora.

20 thoughts on “Name of the Day: Nora”

I think Nora is lovely. I see her as a sweet, pretty, cool girl. I like Norah, too. I would definitely use it.

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I quite like Nora. Don’t mind Norah but prefer no h. I thought this name was already a little more popular. I like it as a full name, but might use it as a nickname for Eleanor, etc., just so she could have both options.

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I like her, but prefer Elinor, nn Nora. I like having options! Nora’s just a bit too sweet for stand alone use for me, too and I really dislike that ‘h’ at the end. It just looks wrong. Nora’s perfectly lovely on a girl or woman, a nice, solid choice for anyone!

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I love Nora. I prefer it without the h. It’s a pretty, classic name and the H ruins it for me. The girl is gonna be correcting people constantly and that gets annoying really quickly. Nora looks nicer than Norah too.

I’d probably use Nora if it wasn’t for my boyfriend. He doesn’t like it for some reason. lol

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I really like Nora, it is on my list.
Simple yet classic.

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I love Nora. Since my husband is waaaaaaaaay more traditional than I am, this is our current top of the list girl name. I don’t feel I’m settling with this name – as long as both of us like it, I can go without Carys, Clara, Sybil, etc. Our inspiration for Nora? Nora O’Donnell, an MSNBC journalist. Anyway, if there is ever a baby girl for us, she will most likely be Nora. (Unless something better comes along…)

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I really like Nora and also prefer her without the H – it seems like an unnecessary addition to me. Nora is simple, smart and rare (or so I thought)… I can’t quite believe she’s charting at 242, I’m sure that can’t be the case in the UK because I’ve never met a Nora(h) or even seen a birth annoucement proclaiming the arrival of one. Still, it would be refreshingly lovely to come across one and would certainly make a change from all the Ellie’s… Actually this brings me to a point I’ve been meaning to ask: Does anyone know if there is a UK chart that goes beyond the top 100? Thanks in advance…

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I love Nora. If Clara weren’t our #1 baby girls’ name option, Nora would definitely be on our list. As it stands, Clara and Nora feel just a little too similar for sisters, at least to me.

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Good question about the UK list going above the top 100. I’ve been wondering that too, I tried to find it, but couldn’t.

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I haven’t been able to find anything more than a top 100 list for England. I checked the General Register Office website, but it didn’t go above the top 100.

However, here’s a list of ALL names given in Scotland in 2007. Unfortunately, it’s listed alphabetically instead of by rank, so it takes some looking through to find what you’re after:
http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files1/stats/pop-names-07-t4.pdf

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Thanks for posting that link Emmy Jo, it was really interesting. Actually, I once stumbled across a top 300 UK names list somewhere on line but have racked my brain and really can’t remember where. It was probably unofficial but nonetheless offered a deeper insight into UK naming trends. Ah well, the hunt continues!

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I like Nora, but I like Noa too.. Which name do you like better: Noa or Nora?

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appellationmountain on December 26, 2008 at 12:42 pm said:

That’s really hard to say, Lisanne. I would’ve said I like Noa better – something about the sound, I guess, and I’m a sucker for underused names with history. But with Noah so hot for boys, I can’t help think that Noa would be a headache.

I like Nora just as much, but would probably use it as a nickname for Honora or Honor. I’ve seriously considered the name Honora, so I guess I’m more likely to use Nora.

But I really do like Noa – she was NotD a while back and got a favorable response, too!

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Thank you so much for your answer! Well, I’m from Holland and I think Noa is a little ‘overused’.. But I still like it. I think it sounds cute.

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BTW. When you see my name Lisanne.. How do you think it is pronounced? (Sorry if I make a mistake.. my English isn’t very good)
Do you think it’s like Liz-En or something like that? And is it a rare name? Or are there many girls named Lisanne?

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appellationmountain on December 26, 2008 at 4:18 pm said:

Lisanne, your English is better than my Dutch!

I’d say it LEES ann, two syllables, with a long “e” like me or see. But I’d be prepared to be wrong about that. I’m reading it like an elaboration of Lisa, which I guess is why I’m saying LEES.

Lisa was the #1 name for girls born in the US in the 1960s, so I’ve known quite a few. But Lisanne? It’s rare – Lisanne has never been in the US Top 1000. I don’t think I’ve ever heard it before.

Lee Anne, Liane, Leigh Anne, etc. is heard in the US, but isn’t fashionable at the moment. Anneliese – or Annalisa, Annalise, etc. – is on the rise. (Actually, as I type that, I’m thinking that Lisanne might be LEE sahn ah?)

It’s very pretty.

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