The baby name Honora blends a virtuous meaning with vintage style.
Thanks to Sky for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHAT DOES THE NAME HONORA MEAN?
Honor sounds like a strong word. It’s hard to argue with such a virtuous image, right?
The word comes from the Anglo-French honour, ultimately from the Latin honorem. Noah Webster convinced Americans the drop the u, while in England, honour still stands.
Different uses of the word abound: there’s the honor roll, to do the honors, to defend one’s honor, to honor an agreement.
They all generally mean the same thing – dignity, respect, keeping one’s commitment.
Virtue names are in the midst of a renaissance, and parents are embracing plenty of meaningful names, some first used by the Puritans.
And yet, this story dates back well before the Mayflower set sail.
ANCIENT HONORIUS
Roman emperor Honorius reigned from 393 to 423 AD. The general impression is that Honorius was a dud. Among other things, Rome was sacked for the first time in eight centuries on his watch.
But there were also four popes and a handful of saints by the name. Honorius was a common enough given name that feminine form Honoria appears, too.
In other words, Honora might not be an elaboration of Honor as much as it is a variant of Honoria.
There are also masculine forms, like the French Honoré – the given name of writer Balzac.
HONORA: 19th and 20th CENTURIES
Novelist Charlotte Yonge published many a successful book during the nineteenth century. From the 1840s through the 1890s, her dozens of works gave us many an appealing character – all with great names.
Yonge was a serious name nerd. Her characters answered to rarities like Amabel and Lucilla and they often have nicknames – sometimes more than one.
Plus, Yonge even wrote a baby name book.
The character Honora appears in Yonge’s 1860 Hopes & Fears.
In 1880, the first year the Social Security Administration collected given name data, Honora ranks in the US Top 1000. Credit to Yonge?
Possibly.
The name was in the air. Sara and Gerald Murphy were at the center of a glittering Jazz Age set of young, wealthy Americans in Europe. F. Scott Fitzgerald was a dear friend. They had three children, sons Baoth and Patrick, and daughter Honoria, born during the 1920s.
FAMOUS FIGURES
While no form of the name has been especially common in recent decades, there have been a few notables, including:
- British actress Honor Blackman, best known as an early Bond girl.
- Jessica Alba’s daughter, Honor Marie.
- Fictional Honorias in novels by Charles Dickens and Agatha Christie, as well as PG Wodehouse’s Jeeves and Wooster stories.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME HONORA?
United States name data begins with the year 1880. The baby name Honora appears in the Top 1000 most years from 1880 through 1899, but only on the fringes of the list.
Given that early data is less reliable and represents a small number of births, it’s safe to say that this name wouldn’t have been all that familiar at the turn of the 20th century.
Today in terms of popularity, the baby name Honora remains much less common than the straight-up word name.
As of 2024:
- 109 boys and 91 girls were named Honor.
- 28 girls were named Honora.
- Fewer than five children were named Honoria, despite that fashionable -ia ending.
Onora is also heard in Ireland, and Annora makes it more of an Ann name. Because we drop the H from “honor” and Honora, both spellings seem slighty more phonetic.
Honorine is French, and brings to mind 4th century Saint Honorina, from the Normandy region.
Hybrids like Hanora might owe a little something to Honora, or possibly Hannah and obvious nickname option Nora.
MEANINGFUL AND ANTIQUE
The baby name Honora feels inescapably antique. There’s a sepia-toned romance to this name.
It’s richly meaningful, a virtue choice that’s lighter than Prudence, and possibly easier to embody than Patience.
If you’re looking for a feminine, vintage choice for a daughter with a strong image, Honora might be the ideal choice.
What do you think of the baby name Honora?
First published on April 28, 2015, this post was revised on October 6, 2025.
A family name for us, we always pronounced it uh-NOOR-uh.
I love Honoria because of Jeeves & Wooster (the show; I’ve never read the books). Honoria was sporty and fun, and I always wished Wooster (played by young Hugh Laurie) would end up with her. 🙂
Reminds me of the character in Bleak House. I would be more likely to use Honor.
Honora was once a favorite of mine until I realized I was pronouncing it wrong, or at least using the less favored pronunciation. How do you pronounce it? Aw-Nora with the emphasis on Nora, or aw-naw-ruh?
https://www.howtopronounce.com/honoria/
I do like Honora, but I ultimately prefer Honor. I would use this as a middle name, not as a first. (Honor as a first name just makes me think of Jessica Alba’s little girl.) I would love to see Honora used again, though. It’s a perfect twist on the now-popular Nora.