Nora (name) explained

Nora
Gender:	Female
Meaning:	"honor"
Region:	Europe
Origin:	from Norman, in turn from Latin
Related Names:	Norah, Noora, Noorah, Norma, Eleonora, Eleanor, Norabelle, Nura, Leonora

Nora is a feminine personal name. It mainly originates as a short form of Honora (also Honoria), a common Anglo-Norman name, ultimately derived from the Latin word Honor (with that meaning).^[1] In Hungary, the name Nóra originates as a short form of Eleonóra.^[2]

The Irish Nóra is likewise probably an Irish form of Honora. A diminutive form of Nóra is Nóirín; this name has numerous anglicised forms, such as: Norene and Norine.^[3]

Nora has been among the most popular girl names in Norway in the 2000s, topping the list of most popular girl names in 2012.^[4]

In Finnish and Arabic there is a given name Noora.

"Bloody Nora" or "flaming Nora" is a British minced oath.^[5]

Notable people with the name include:

People

• Nora Arnezeder (born 1989), French actress and singer
• Nora Aunor (born 1953), Filipina actress
• Norah Balls (1886–1980), British suffragette, women's rights campaigner, magistrate, councillor.
• Nora Barnacle (1884–1951), wife of author James Joyce
• Nora Berra (born 1963), French politician
• Nora Campos (born 1966), American politician
• Norah Carter (1881–1966), New Zealand photographer
• Nora Cortiñas (born 1930), Argentine social psychologist, activist, human rights defender
• Nora Cullen (1905–1990), Argentine actress
• Nora Demleitner (born 1966), American law professor
• Nora Dunblane (1879–19??), American actress and writer
• Nora Dunn (born 1952), American actress and comedian
• Nora Ekberg, known as Little Sis Nora (born 1996), Swedish singer
• Norah Elam (1878-1961), Irish-born British suffragette
• Nora England (1946–2022), American linguist
• Nora Ephron (1941–2012), American writer
• Nora Fatehi (born 1992), Canadian-Moroccan dancer and actress
• Norah Flatley (born 2000), American artistic gymnast
• Nora Gal (1912–1991), Russian translator
• Nora Trueblood Gause, (1851-1955), American humanitarian
• Nora Gjakova (born 1992), Kosovo-Albanian judoka, Olympic champion
• Norah Gibbons (1952–8 April 2020), Irish children's advocate and social worker
• Nora Heysen (1911–2003), Australian artist
• Norah M. Holland (1876-1925), writer
• Nora Istrefi (born 1986), Kosovo-Albanian singer
• Nora Iuga (born 1931), Romanian poet, writer and translator
• Nora Jenčušová (born 2002), Slovak road cyclist
• Norah Jones (born 1979), American singer
• Nora Kirkpatrick (born 1984), American actress
• Princess Nora of Liechtenstein (born 1950), Liechtenstein princess
• Nora Lum, known as Awkwafina (born 1988), American actress
• Nora McDermott (1927–2013), Canadian basketball and volleyball player, coach and physical education teacher
• Nora Mebarek (born 1972), French politician
• Nora Méndez (born 1969), Salvadoran poet
• Nora Miao (born 1952), Hong Kong actress
• Nora Newcombe (born 1951), Canadian psychologist
• Nora Nicholson (1892–1973), British actress
• Norah O'Donnell (born 1974), American journalist
• Nora Owen (born 1945), Irish politician and television presenter
• Nora Perry (1831–1896), American poet and writer
• Nora Perry (born 1954), British badminton player
• Nora Roberts (born 1950), American author
• Nora Salinas (born 1976), Mexican actress
• Nora Cate Schaeffer, American sociologist and survey statistician
• Nora Lawrence Smith (1885–1971), American newspaper publisher
• Nora Sun (1937–2011), American diplomat
• Nora Swinburne (1902–2000), British actress
• Nora Tschirner (born 1981), German actress
• Nora Volkow (born 1956), Mexican psychiatrist
• Nora Torulf (1903–1993), Swedish politician and author
• Nora Tynan O'Mahony (1866–1954), Irish poet and writer
• Nora W. Tyson (born 1956), American admiral
• Nora Waln (1895–1964), American writer
• Nora Wattie (1900–1994), Scottish public health medicine and ante-natal pioneer
• Norah Wilson (1901–1971), Australian Aboriginal community worker
• Nora Zehetner (born 1981), American actress

Animals

• Nora (2004–2024), a cat known for playing piano
• Nora (born 2015), a polar bear at the Oregon Zoo

Fictional characters

• • Nora from the film Pete's Dragon Nora from the anime Noragami
• Nora Allen from The Flash comic books
• Nora Allen (The Flash), Barry Allen's mother in the TV series The Flash
• Nora West-Allen, Barry and Iris' daughter in the TV series The Flash
• Nora Arendt in Spice and Wolf
• Nora the Arctic Fox Fairy, from the British book series Rainbow Magic (originally published as Anna the Arctic Fox Fairy)
• Nora from Cytus II
• Nora Baker, eldest daughter of 'The Bakers' in the film Cheaper by the Dozen
• Nora Batty, fictional character on the British television series Last of the Summer Wine
• Nora Holleran, fictional character from the book and film Red White and Royal Blue
• Nora Beady, fictional character from the Barnyard franchise
• Nora Bing, fictional character in Friends
• Nora Braverman, fictional character in the Parenthood tv series
• Nora Charles, fictional character in the Dashiell Hammett novel, The Thin Man
• Nora Carpenter, fictional character in Final Destination 2
• Nora Clitheroe, from the play The Plough and the Stars
• Nora Darhk, fictional character in Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow
• Nora Dershlit, a fictional character from iCarly
• Nora Durst, a character from the American television series The Leftovers
• Nora Estheim, fictional character in the video game Final Fantasy XIII
• Nora Fries, fictional character in DC Comics
• Nora Gainesborough, a fictional character from True Blood
• Nora Grey, fictional character in the Hush, Hush series of books by Becca Fitzpatrick
• Nora Hanen, fictional character on the American television series One Life to Live
• Nora Helmer, character in A Doll's House by Henrik Ibsen
• Nora of Kelmendi, legendary character in the Albanian folklore
• Nora Krank, a fictional character in the film Christmas with the Kranks
• Nora Lewin, fictional character on the American television series Law & Order
• Nora Mae Edwards, fictional character in the movie Graverobbers
• Nora Reid, fictional character on the Amazon Prime Video original series The Wilds
• Noora Amalie Sætre, fictional character in Norwegian TV show SKAM
• Nora Singh, fictional character in the TV series The Muppets Mayhem
• Norah Stoakes, fictional character in the Canadian young adult novel The Sky Is Falling
• Nora Thunderman, fictional character the TV show The Thundermans
• Nora Valkyrie from the animated web series RWBY
• Nora Wakeman, fictional character in My Life as a Teenage Robot
• Nora Walker, a character in the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why
• Nora Walker, fictional character on the American television series Brothers & Sisters

Notes and References

1. Book: Withycombe, E. G. . The Concise Dictionary of English Christian Names. Omega Books. 1976 .
2. Book: Drosdowski, Günther. Lexikon der Vornamen. Duden. 1974.
3. .
4. News: Elisabeth . Rodum . 23 January 2013 . Nora og Lucas mest populære . Aftenposten . no.
5. Either derived from Cockney pronunciation of "horror" or using "Nora" as a generic name; "flaming Ada" also occurs. Web site: J. R. . Thorpe . 9 Obscure Swear Words We Should Bring Back . Bustle . 3 February 2015. Book: Dent, Susie . What Made The Crocodile Cry?: 101 Questions about the English Language . Oxford . Oxford University Press . 2009 . 978-0-19-957415-5 . 132–33 .