Ora
Masculine
Ora is given to both — 5,616 boys and 39,278 girls since 1880. See Ora as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Ora was given to sons as well as daughters in nineteenth-century America — three letters that Latin, Hebrew and several longer names can all claim, and that the registers offer no way of telling apart.
How old is the name Ora?
Ora was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Ora alive today was born around 1922, making them about 103 years old. About 1,000 people named Ora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Ora most popular?
Ora peaked in 1883, reaching #182 nationally. See the whole 1883 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Ora
Our story of Ora begins in a register office where the clerk wrote three letters and asked no questions. It was a prayer in Latin, a light in Hebrew, and the front of half a dozen longer names, and in the American South of the 1880s it was simply a name families used — for a son as readily as for a daughter, often because an older Ora appeared somewhere earlier in the family. Nobody recorded what they meant by it. What survives is that thousands of them chose it, and that it worked whichever of those things it was.
Meaningnot established
Not established
Several unrelated readings. The Latin ora is an imperative meaning 'pray', from orare, and it is also a noun meaning shore or edge. The Hebrew or means 'light'. Ora also functions as a clipping of Orlando, Orville or Orin. Nineteenth-century American records give no indication which was intended.
Pronouncing Ora
OR-uh
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said the same way whichever sex carries it.
Nicknames for Ora
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1922156 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #182reached in 1883
- Change vs 2016
- 0.0%5 in 2024, from 5
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.
Ora in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Or in Hebrew — related form
- Ora in Italian — same name
- Orie in English — spelling variant
Oras among us
people named Ora are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Ora has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Three letters, legible in almost every language that uses the Latin alphabet.
- It is genuinely rare now while being entirely traditional in American records.
- Simple enough for a very young child to say and write.
- It has no settled meaning, and the candidates come from unrelated languages.
- It was given to both sexes, so it does not signal sex on paper.
- It is strongly period-coded to the late nineteenth century.
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Ora
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Oras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Ora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Ora in 2025?
- Ora is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Ora with classmates?
- Ora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More O names
The most-given names starting with O, all years combined.
Oliver#3 · Owen#31 · Oscar#223 · Omar#260 · Otis#652 · Orlando#871 · Otto#277 · Orville#6143
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Ora? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Ora and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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