Theora
Feminine
Theora sits on a Greek word that English uses every day without noticing what it meant: theory began as a word about looking at something, and a theoros was an official sent to watch.
How old is the name Theora?
Theora first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Theora alive today was born around 1925, making them about 100 years old. About 200 people named Theora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Theora most popular?
Theora peaked in 1901, reaching #1067 nationally. See the whole 1901 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Theora
A theoros was a real job. Greek cities sent official observers to the great festivals — to watch the games, witness the rites and bring back an account — and the word for what they did, theoria, meant the act of looking at something properly. It shifted from that to contemplation, and from contemplation to a scheme of explanation, and English eventually borrowed it as the opposite of practice. There is something worth keeping in the older sense: a theory was originally not a guess but a way of seeing, produced by somebody who had been sent to look and was expected to report accurately.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Greek word theoria means contemplation or viewing. Whether this name descends from it or is a feminine built on Theodore, which is a different word entirely, cannot be established — the 1890s produced names both ways and kept no notes.
Pronouncing Theora
thee-OR-uh
Three syllables with the stress in the middle, and the soft th of thin.
Nicknames for Theora
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
- 1891
- Most girls named
- 192937 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1067reached in 1901
- Change vs 2020
- +14.3%8 in 2024, from 7
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.
Theoras among us
people named Theora 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
Theora sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It is read correctly on sight in spite of being rare.
- It shortens two ways and both short forms are established names.
- It has a genuinely interesting word behind it, if the Greek route is right.
- Theodora and Thea are both better known and hers will be heard as one of them.
- The name belongs entirely to one American era.
- Two possible origins mean no meaning is safely hers.
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Theora
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Theoras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Theora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Theora in 2025?
- Theora is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Theora with classmates?
- Theora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More T names
The most-given names starting with T, all years combined.
Teresa#908 · Theresa#1548 · Tiffany#878 · Tammy#3645 · Taylor#403 · Tina#2778 · Tracy#2153 · Thelma#4661
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Theora? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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