Thora
Feminine name of Nordic origin meaning "thunder goddess" or "thunderstorm".
Name Census estimates that about 763 living Americans carry the first name Thora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Thora today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Thora births was 1916 (72 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Thora. 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
763
~ 1 in 449,219 Americans
Peak year
1916
72 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,995
Tracked since 1883
Popularity
Thora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Thora 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 519 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1910s peak, Thora remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Thora 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 Thora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Thoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. Utah, Minnesota, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Thora, while Texas, North Dakota, New York recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 27 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Thora
The name Thora is of Old Norse origin, derived from the word "þora" which means "brave" or "courageous". It was a popular name among the Vikings and Norsemen who inhabited Scandinavia and parts of Northern Europe during the Viking Age, spanning from the late 8th century to the late 11th century.
The name Thora can be traced back to various ancient Norse texts and sagas, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, which were written in the 13th century. These texts contain references to Norse mythology and legends, where the name Thora is mentioned in connection with various female characters known for their bravery and strength.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Thora is found in the 10th century Icelandic Book of Settlements (Landnámabók), which documents the settlement of Iceland by Norse settlers. The book mentions a woman named Thora who was among the first settlers to arrive in Iceland during the late 9th century.
Throughout history, there have been several notable women named Thora, including:
1. Thora Borgarhjört (born c. 970), an Icelandic woman known for her involvement in a legal dispute recorded in the Njál's Saga, one of the most famous Icelandic sagas.
2. Thora Thorbergsdatter (c. 1020-1090), a Norwegian noblewoman and one of the most powerful women in Norway during the 11th century.
3. Thora Hallsdatter (c. 1205-1268), a Norwegian landowner and one of the richest women in Norway during the 13th century.
4. Thora Halldorsdottir (1637-1683), an Icelandic poet and one of the most famous female poets of her time.
5. Thora Thoroddsen (1856-1945), an Icelandic educator and one of the first female principals in Iceland.
The name Thora has maintained its popularity in Scandinavia and Iceland throughout the centuries, with variations such as Tora, Thura, and Tora appearing in different regions. It has also been adopted in other parts of the world, often reflecting the influence of Norse culture and mythology.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Thora
People
Thora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Thora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with T
Other first names starting with T with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Thora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Thora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 763 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Thora 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 449,219 US residents.
Is Thora a common name?
We classify Thora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 88.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,404 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Thora most popular?
The single biggest year for Thora was 1916, when 72 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Thora is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Thora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Thora 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.