Norah
A feminine name of Hebrew origin meaning "brilliant light".
Name Census estimates that about 31,338 living Americans carry the first name Norah. It sits at #223 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Norah today is around 12 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Norah births was 2017 (2,156 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Norah. 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 Norah with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Norah is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 129 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Norah is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 12 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
31K
~ 1 in 10,937 Americans
Peak year
2017
2,156 babies that year
Average age
12
years old
2004 SSA rank
#223
Tracked since 1880
Census
Norah in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 23,769 people with the first name Norah, which placed it at #1,429 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
#1,429
National first-name rank
People counted
24K
23,769 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
7.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Norah
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norah is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Norah 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 Norah at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 18,575
- Hispanic or Latino7.6% · 1,811
- Two or more races6.6% · 1,569
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.9% · 929
- Black or African American3.4% · 810
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 75
Gender
Gender distribution for Norah
Out of the 32,790 babies given the name Norah since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Norah as a male name
- Ranked #10,941 in 2004
- 6 male births in 2004
- Peak: 1933 (10 births)
Norah as a female name
- Ranked #223 in 2024
- 1,374 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2017 (2,156 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norah appears almost entirely female. Of the 23,775 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Norah: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Norah from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 17,742 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Norah remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Norah 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 Norah during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Norahs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Norah, while Alaska, Wyoming, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 585 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Norah
The name Norah has its origins in the Irish and Gaelic languages, with roots dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic word "Nuala," which means "daughter of the honorable one." The name Norah is a diminutive or pet form of Nuala, often used as an affectionate nickname.
In ancient Irish mythology, there are references to a goddess named Nuada, who was associated with healing and warfare. It is possible that the name Norah has some connection to this mythological figure, though the direct link is uncertain. The name has been in use in Ireland for centuries and was particularly popular among the Gaelic-speaking population.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Norah can be found in the Annals of Ulster, an ancient Irish chronicle dating back to the 15th century. In this text, a woman named Norah O'Donnell is mentioned, though details about her life are scarce. Another early example is Norah Barnwell, an Irish noblewoman who lived in the late 16th century and was known for her patronage of the arts.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Norah. One of the most famous was Norah Borges, an Argentinian writer and translator who lived from 1901 to 1998. She was the sister of the renowned author Jorge Luis Borges and played a significant role in promoting his work.
Another influential figure was Norah Richards, an American educator and civil rights activist who lived from 1876 to 1949. She founded the Richards Memorial School in West Virginia, which provided education to African American children during a time of widespread segregation.
In the world of literature, Norah Lofts (1904-1983) was a British author known for her historical novels, including the acclaimed "Town House" series. In the field of music, Norah Jones (born 1979) is a Grammy-winning American singer-songwriter who has achieved global success with her blend of jazz, pop, and folk genres.
While the name Norah may have originated in Ireland, it has since gained popularity in various parts of the world, particularly in English-speaking countries. Its enduring appeal lies in its soft, melodic sound and its connection to Irish heritage and culture.
People
Norah + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Norah 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
Norah: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Norah?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 31,338 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Norah 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 10,937 US residents.
Is Norah a common name?
We classify Norah as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 32,790 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Norah most popular?
The single biggest year for Norah was 2017, when 2,156 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Norah is about 12 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Norah in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 23,769 people with the name Norah, or 7.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,429 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 Norah 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 Norah?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Norah appears almost entirely female. Of the 23,775 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Norah?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Norah is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.6%) and Two or More Races (6.6%). 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 Norah most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Norah in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (18,575 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 Norah in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Norah a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Norah 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 Norah still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Norah 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 Norah 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 Norah?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.