Nor
A Scandinavian feminine name meaning "north" or "glory".
Name Census estimates that about 40 living Americans carry the first name Nor. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 85.0% of registrations being female. The average person named Nor today is around 9 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Nor births was 2013 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Nor. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Nor with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Nor. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
40
~ 1 in 8,568,858 Americans
Peak year
2013
6 babies that year
Average age
9
years old
2013 SSA rank
#11,757
Tracked since 2002
Census
Nor in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 560 people with the first name Nor, which placed it at #19,065 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#19,065
National first-name rank
People counted
560
560 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
32.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nor
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nor is Asian/Pacific Islander at 32.0%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (26.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Nor described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Nor at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander32.0% · 179
- White30.0% · 168
- Hispanic or Latino26.6% · 149
- Black or African American8.4% · 47
- Two or more races2.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Nor
Nor leans heavily female at 85.0% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Nor as a male name
- Ranked #11,757 in 2013
- 6 male births in 2013
- Peak: 2013 (6 births)
Nor as a female name
- Ranked #14,763 in 2024
- 6 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2016 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nor on both sides of the split. Of the 566 people counted with this name, 299 were male (52.8%) and 267 were female (47.2%).
Popularity
Nor: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Nor from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 18 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Nor 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 Nor during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Nor
The given name Nor has its origins in the Armenian language and culture. It is a shortened form of the Armenian name Norayr, which means "new fire" or "new light." This name can be traced back to ancient times, with references found in early Armenian literature and historical records.
In the 5th century, the Armenian historian Movses Khorenatsi mentioned the name Norayr in his work "History of Armenia." He described it as a name associated with the Arsacid dynasty, which ruled Armenia from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Nor was Nor Ardzruni, an Armenian prince who lived in the 9th century. He played a significant role in the defense of Armenia against Arab invasions during that period.
In the 12th century, another notable figure named Nor Ter Grigor Tghay was a prominent Armenian clergyman and writer. He is known for his works on theology and philosophy, which had a profound influence on Armenian intellectual and religious life.
During the 13th century, Nor Khatun was a notable Armenian woman who served as the wife of the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, Kaykhusraw II. She played an important role in the political affairs of the Seljuk Empire and was respected for her wisdom and diplomacy.
In more recent history, Nor Armen Matossian (1929-2017) was an Armenian-American historian and author. He wrote extensively on the history and culture of Armenia, and his works have been widely acclaimed for their scholarly contributions.
The name Nor has been popular throughout Armenian history, and its meaning of "new fire" or "new light" has carried symbolic significance, often representing hope, renewal, and enlightenment.
People
Nor + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Nor as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Nor: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Nor?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 40 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Nor 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 8,568,858 US residents.
Is Nor a common name?
We classify Nor as "Very Rare". It ranks above 51% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 40 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Nor most popular?
The single biggest year for Nor was 2013, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Nor is about 9 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Nor in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 560 people with the name Nor, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #19,065 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Nor in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Nor?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Nor on both sides of the split. Of the 566 people counted with this name, 299 were male (52.8%) and 267 were female (47.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Nor?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Nor is Asian/Pacific Islander at 32.0%. The next largest groups are White (30.0%) and Hispanic (26.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Nor most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Nor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 32.0% (179 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Nor in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Nor a female name?
Yes, 85.0% of people registered as Nor 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.
Is Nor still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Nor in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Nor can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have the name Nor?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Nor on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.