Mora
Feminine · “Spanish "blackberry”
In Spanish mora means both a blackberry and a Moorish woman, and the link between them is color. The dark fruit and the dark-skinned North Africans were described with the same root, which also gives moreno, the ordinary Spanish word for dark-haired.
How old is the name Mora?
Mora first appears in US birth records in 1881 — 144 years ago. The typical Mora alive today was born around 1976, making them about 49 years old. About 600 people named Mora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Mora most popular?
Mora peaked in 1887, reaching #733 nationally. Today it ranks #7491, 6,758 places below that high. See the whole 1887 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From mōrum to Mora
The story of Mora
Color terms and ethnic terms have overlapped in most European languages, and Spanish is unusually explicit about it: moro named the Muslim inhabitants of North Africa and Iberia, moreno describes dark hair or skin without ethnic reference, and mora names a dark berry. The Latin words behind them are distinct, but centuries of Spanish speakers have heard them as one family. The American figures for Mora peak in 1887, early enough that Irish and Scottish usage is at least as likely a source as Spanish, and the record does not distinguish them.
Meaningscholars disagree
Spanish "blackberry, mulberry"; also "Moorish woman"
Two Latin words converge in Spanish mora. Latin mōrum, a mulberry, gives the fruit; Latin Maurus, a Moor or North African, gives the ethnic sense and the adjective moreno, dark. The words are separate in origin and merged in sound. A third possibility for the American name is Irish and Scottish Mora or Moira, from Máire, the Irish form of Mary. Latin mora, a delay, is a fourth and unrelated word.
How the name formed
- mōrum
- mora
- Mora
Related forms: Mora · Moira · Mora
Pronouncing Mora
MOR-ah
Two syllables, stress on the first, with a tapped r in Spanish. English speakers say MOR-uh with a reduced final vowel, which is close enough.
Nicknames for Mora
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1881
- Most girls named
- 201924 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #733reached in 1887
- Change vs 2023
- −17.6%14 in 2025, from 17
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Mora in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Mora in Spanish — same name
- Moira in Irish — related form
- Mora in Italian — same name
Moras among us
people named Mora are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 114,805 born in 2025 was named Mora
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Mora sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Mora beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Mora in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- It is short, four letters, and read correctly in English or Spanish.
- It works across Spanish, Italian and Irish naming.
- Mo is an immediate short form.
- It carries an ethnic sense in Spanish that English speakers will not hear.
- Several unrelated origins share the spelling.
- It is easily confused with Maura, Moira and Nora.
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Mora
Feminine · #7491 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Moras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Mora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Mora in 2025?
- Mora ranks #7491 among US girl names in 2025, with 14 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Mora?
- About 1 in every 114,805 US girls born in 2025 was named Mora — 14 in all.
- Will my child share the name Mora with classmates?
- Mora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Mora
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Christie#7491 · Carmelita#7491 · Jetta#7491 · Hildegard#7491 · Rickie#7491 · Billy#7491 · Angelyn#7491 · Jewell#7491
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Mora? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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