Honora
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "honor" or "respected one".
Name Census estimates that about 797 living Americans carry the first name Honora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Honora today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Honora births was 1919 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Honora. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
797
~ 1 in 430,056 Americans
Peak year
1919
28 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,800
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Honora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Honora from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 202 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Honora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Honora by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Honora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Honoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts recorded the most babies named Honora, while Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 51 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Honora
The name Honora has its roots in Latin, deriving from the word "honorus" which means "honorable" or "respected." It emerged during the Roman Empire and was primarily used by noble families to signify honor and virtue.
Honora gained prominence in early Christian tradition as it was borne by several early saints and martyrs. One of the earliest recorded examples is Saint Honora, a 4th-century virgin martyr who was executed during the Diocletian persecution of Christians. Her feast day is celebrated on February 8th in the Roman Catholic Church.
In the 6th century, Honora was the name of a Frankish princess who married the Visigothic King Sigebert I. Their marriage helped forge an alliance between the Franks and Visigoths, playing a significant role in the political landscape of the time.
During the Middle Ages, Honora was a popular name among the nobility and aristocracy, particularly in France and England. Honora de Balun, a 12th-century English noblewoman, was one of the first recorded instances of the name in Britain.
In literary works, Honora appears in William Shakespeare's play "Titus Andronicus," where she is the daughter of the titular character. This reference helped to further popularize the name in the 16th century.
Notable historical figures with the name Honora include:
1. Honora Sneyd (1714-1786), an English aristocrat and beauty, who was courted by both Samuel Johnson and James Boswell.
2. Honora Edgeworth (1767-1849), an English writer and novelist, best known for her novel "Belinda."
3. Honora Burnett (1798-1888), an American philanthropist and social reformer, who founded the Ladies' Union Aid Association during the American Civil War.
4. Honora Bright (1865-1939), an English writer and suffragist, who advocated for women's rights and education.
5. Honora Foote (1900-1976), an American actress and dancer, known for her roles in several Broadway musicals and films.
While the name Honora has fallen out of widespread use in recent times, it remains a beautiful and historic name with a rich cultural heritage, reflecting honor, virtue, and nobility.
People
Honora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Honora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Honora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Honora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 797 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Honora going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 430,056 US residents.
Is Honora a common name?
We classify Honora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,705 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Honora most popular?
The single biggest year for Honora was 1919, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Honora is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Honora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Honora in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.