Zora
Zora was the 969th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 264 babies. Its best year was 1884, when it ranked 258th; the most babies were born in 2019 (353). Over the last ten years it has moved up 606 places. More babies were named Zora in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Meaning dawn (Slavic) · Serbo-Croatian, Czech
Say it ZOR-uh /ˈzɔɹə/
- Rank in 2025
- #969 girls, down 94 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 264girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 2019353 babies
- Total since 1880
- 10,248babies recorded
What does the name Zora mean?
Zora is a South Slavic and Czech name from the common Slavic word zora 'dawn', as in Serbo-Croatian and Slovene zora. Wiktionary records the Italian name as borrowed from Serbo-Croatian zòra. In the US it is linked above all with the writer and folklorist Zora Neale Hurston, author of Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). SSA records show it from the first year of data, 1880.
zora (Serbo-Croatian, “dawn”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Zorah, Zorica, Aurora.
See also: Slavic names, names that mean sky, star, moon or sun.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Zora' (Italian section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Wiktionary, entry 'zora' (Serbo-Croatian section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (our computation), SSA (public domain)
Zora popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 46 since 1893, 9 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #969 | 264 |
| 2020 | #875 | 308 |
| 2010 | #2,219 | 88 |
| 2000 | #3,981 | 32 |
| 1990 | #10,192 | 8 |
| 1980 | #5,542 | 13 |
| 1970 | — | — |
| 1960 | #2,903 | 19 |
| 1950 | #1,719 | 31 |
| 1940 | #1,034 | 49 |
| 1930 | #731 | 93 |
| 1920 | #616 | 135 |
| 1910 | #542 | 57 |
| 1900 | #338 | 99 |
| 1890 | #328 | 60 |
| 1880 | #304 | 28 |
How popular is Zora, counting every spelling?
Zora is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #850 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #969 for Zora on its own. Together these spellings went to 310 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zora | 264 | #969 | 1,537 |
| Zorah | 46 | #3,387 | 211 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Zora?
264 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Zora (0.07 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Zora born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 32 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Zora.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Zora?
About 5,400 people born in the US named Zora are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 22. That makes Zora a young name: most people with it are children.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Zora by state
How common Zora was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in District of Columbia (12.9×), Maryland (3.2×), Georgia (2.2×), Virginia (2.0×), North Carolina (1.9×). In 21 states fewer than five girls a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Zora: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Zora, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Zora · Sibling names for Zora
Questions about the name Zora
What does Zora mean?
Zora means “dawn (Slavic)” (Serbo-Croatian, Czech origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Zora?
Zora was the 969th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 264 babies. Its best year was 1884, when it ranked 258th; the most babies were born in 2019 (353). Over the last ten years it has moved up 606 places. More babies were named Zora in the 2020s than in any other decade.
Is Zora a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Zora in the US.
Where is Zora most popular?
In 2021–2025, Zora was most common in District of Columbia (2.45 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maryland and Delaware.