Dora
Girl name · #2387 in 2025 · Very rare
Dora ranks #2387 among American girls' names as of 2025, with 75 newborns given the name that year. A decade ago it stood at #1972, so the name has been falling over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 24,000 girls born in 2025 was named Dora.
The 145-year story
Dora first appears in the Social Security records in 1880, when 524 girls received the name. Its peak came in 1921, when 2,026 girls were named Dora — good for #130 that year. Today's parents encounter it as a name from their grandparents’ generation, which is precisely the vintage window from which names get revived. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Babies named Dora per year. Source: SSA.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Dora against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Dora in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Dora is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "very rare". A high score means genuine rarity — your Dora will likely be the only one in the room, with the occasional spelling-out as the price.
Where Dora is most common
State-level data for Dora is too sparse in 2025 to rank by rate — in most states its count falls below the SSA's per-state reporting threshold (counts under 5 are withheld).
Nicknames & related forms of Dora
Dora belongs to the Theodora family — closely related nicknames and spellings of the same name.
Counted as one name, the Theodora family went to about 1,326 girls in 2025 — together they'd rank around #234, versus #2387 for Dora alone.
Names like Dora
Statistically, parents drawn to Dora tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Ora, Edna, Irma, Elvira, and Hilda.
OraEdnaIrmaElviraHildaOlgaInaElva
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Dora | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 75 | #2387 |
| 2024 | 68 | #2585 |
| 2023 | 68 | #2588 |
| 2022 | 71 | #2510 |
| 2021 | 82 | #2251 |
| 2020 | 73 | #2394 |
| 2019 | 102 | #1933 |
| 2018 | 75 | #2404 |
| 2017 | 100 | #1976 |
| 2016 | 111 | #1857 |
| 2015 | 101 | #1972 |
| 2014 | 88 | #2154 |
| 2013 | 78 | #2344 |
| 2012 | 93 | #2064 |
| 2011 | 88 | #2156 |
| 2010 | 83 | #2296 |
| 2009 | 102 | #2016 |
| 2008 | 93 | #2157 |
| 2007 | 100 | #2034 |
| 2006 | 142 | #1539 |
| 2005 | 155 | #1389 |
| 2004 | 165 | #1294 |
| 2003 | 169 | #1242 |
| 2002 | 164 | #1224 |
| 2001 | 166 | #1218 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Dora a popular girl name?
Dora ranked #2387 among girls in 2025 with 75 babies given the name — outside the top 500, making it an uncommon pick. Ten years earlier it ranked #1972.
When was the name Dora most popular?
Dora peaked in 1921, when 2,026 American girls received the name (ranked #130 that year). Since 1921 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Dora?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 24,000 newborn American girls was named Dora. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "very rare".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.