Zora
Feminine · “Dawn”
Zora is overwhelmingly a girls’ name — 10,202 girls against 46 boys since 1880.
Zora is the ordinary Slavic word for dawn, used as a given name across Serbia, Croatia, Bulgaria, the Czech lands and Slovakia. Four letters, two syllables, and a first sound that almost no other common name in English starts with. It has been present in American records since the earliest years such records exist, never in a crowd, never quite gone.
How old is the name Zora?
Zora was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Zora alive today was born around 1949, making them about 76 years old. About 5,500 people named Zora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Zora most popular?
Zora peaked in 1884, reaching #257 nationally. Today it ranks #968, 711 places below that high. See the whole 1884 chart.
Where it comes from
From zorja (Proto-Slavic, 'dawn') to Zora
The story of Zora
Zora comes straight from Proto-Slavic zorja, the word for dawn, which survives largely unchanged across the Slavic languages — Russian zarya, Slovene zarja, Serbian and Croatian zora. Unlike many names, it never needed translating into a name: the word itself was simply given to daughters, the way Rose or Faith work in English. Slavic emigration in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries carried it into American, German and Austrian records, where it kept its spelling intact. In the United States it also belongs to an older Southern naming vein, and the writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, born in Alabama at the close of the nineteenth century, remains its best-known American bearer.
Meaning
Dawn, daybreak
From the Slavic word zora, still the everyday term for dawn in Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Czech and Slovak.
How the name formed
- zorjaProto-Slavic, 'dawn'
- Zora
- Zorka / Zorica
Related forms: Zora · Zora · Zorica · Zarja · Zornitsa · Zarya
Pronouncing Zora
ZOR-uh
Stress on the first syllable. In Slavic languages it is closer to ZOR-ah, with a tapped r and a fuller final vowel; both pass unremarked in English.
Nicknames for Zora
High
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 girls named
- 2019353 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #257reached in 1884
- Change vs 2022
- −20.5%264 in 2025, from 332
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.
Zora in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Zora in Serbian / Croatian — same name
- Zora in Czech / Slovak — same name
- Zorica in Serbian — related form
- Zarja in Slovene — related form
- Zornitsa in Bulgarian — related form
- Zarya in Russian — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Zoras among us
people named Zora are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 6,088 born in 2025 was named Zora
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Zora
- #968
- Zora on the 2025 chart
- #664
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Zora went to 264 girls in 2025, but Zorah is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 310, which makes it the 664th most-given girls’ name of the year — 304 places above the chart.
- Zora264
- Zorah46
About 1 girl in 5,185 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 6,088 for Zora itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Zora 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
Where Zora is headed
Zora should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Zora beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Zora in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the same way in Serbian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak and English — it crosses borders without changing shape.
- Four letters, two syllables, and phonetic: readers get it right on the first attempt even when they have not met it before.
- A word-name with a clear, uncontested meaning, which is rarer than parents expect.
- Long-established diminutives exist in several languages, from Zo to Zorka to Zorica.
- It sits close to Zara, Nora, Cora and Zoe, all currently well used. Expect a fair number of second glances and the occasional 'Zara?' on the phone.
- Most Americans carrying this name today belong to older generations, so it may read as a family name rather than a new one — though it is uncommon enough that a child is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- The initial Z draws attention in a roll call and in alphabetical lists, which some children enjoy and some do not.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Zora
Feminine · #968 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Zoras are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 5,500 people named Zora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Zora?
- Zora is the most-used spelling in US records — 264 of the 310 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Zorah.
- How popular is the name Zora in 2025?
- Zora ranks #968 among US girl names in 2025, with 264 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Zora?
- About 1 in every 6,088 US girls born in 2025 was named Zora — 264 in all.
- Will my child share the name Zora with classmates?
- Zora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Zora
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Barbara#968 · Leylani#970 · Elia#970 · Aleah#965 · Nancy#965 · Mazie#965 · Ashlyn#972 · Tru#972
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Zora? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Zora and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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