Nora or Norah is a feminine given 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). In Hungary, the name Nóra originates as a short form of Eleonóra.
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..
Nora has been among the most popular girl names in Norway in the 2000s, topping the list of most popular girl names in 2012.
In Finnish and Arabic there is a given name Noora.
"Bloody Nora", "ruddy Nora" or "flaming Nora" is a British minced oath, not named after any real individual.Either derived from Cockney pronunciation of "horror" or using "Nora" as a generic name; "flaming Ada" also occurs.
People Notable people with the name include:
Nora Abolins (born 1992), Canadian-born Latvian football player Nora Aceval (born 1953), Algerian writer Nora Achahbar (born 1982), Dutch politician and jurist Nora Adamian (1910–1992), Soviet-Armenian writer Nora Ahlberg (born 1952), Norwegian psychologist Norah Aiton, British architect Norah Al Faiz (born 1956), Saudi deputy education minister Nora Al Matrooshi (born 1993), Emirati astronaut Nora Lilian Alcock (1874–1972), British pioneering plant pathologist Norah Amsellem, French opera singer Norah Ansell (1906–1990), British artist Nora Ariffin, Singaporean fashion model and real estate broker Nora Armani (born 1956), Egyptian play director Nora Arnezeder (born 1989), French actress and singer Nora Ashe (1882–1970), Irish teacher, nationalist and Irish language activist Nora Aslan (born 1937), Argentine visual artist and photographer Nora Astorga (1944–1988), Nicaraguan guerilla, politician, judge, Vice Minister of Justice and ambassador to the United Nations (1986–1988) Nora Attal (born 1999), British fashion model Nora Aunor (1953–2025), Filipina actress Nora Awolowo (born 1999), Nigerian film director, cinematographer, documentary photographer, producer and creative director Nora Azmy (born 2000), Egyptian synchronized swimmer Nora Azurmendi (born 1995), Spanish handballer Nora Bajčíková (1966–2014), Slovak tennis player Nora Baldenweg (born 1981), Swiss/Australian female composer Norah Balls (1886–1980), British suffragette, women's rights campaigner, magistrate, councillor. Norah Baring (1905–1985), English actress Nora Barlow (1885–1989), British botanist and geneticist Norah Barlow, New Zealand business executive Nora Barnacle (1884–1951), wife of author James Joyce Nora Stanton Barney (1883–1971), British civil engineer and suffragist Nora Barrientos (born 1960), Chilean politician Nóra Barta (born 1984), Hungarian diver Nora Raleigh Baskin (born 1961), American author of books for children and young adults Nora Bayes (1880–1928), American singer and vaudeville performer Nora Bayrakdarian, Lebanese Professor of Armenian descent Norah Beare (born 1946), Northern Ireland politician Nora Beloff (1919–1997), English journalist and politician Nora Bennis (1940–2019), Irish housewife and politician Nora Holstad Berge (born 1987), Norwegian footballer Nora von Bergen (born 1990), Swiss ice dancer Nora Bernard (1935–2007), Mi'kmaq activist Nora Berra (born 1963), French politician Nora Berrah, Algerian physicist Nora J. Besansky, American molecular biologist Nora Beust (1888–1973), American writer Nora Aída Bicet (born 1977), Spanish-Cuban javelin thrower Norah Bigirwa-Nyendwoha (born 1968), Ugandan politician Nora Francisca Blackburne (1914–2009), British casting director and civil servant Nora Brooks Blakely (born 1951), American literary editor Norah Blaney (1893–1983), British music hall performer Nora Blom (born 1951), Dutch tennis player Norah Borges (1901–1998), Argentine artist, art critic and member of the Florida group Nora Bossong (born 1982), German writer Nora Boustany, Lebanese journalist and educator Norah Braden (1901–2001), British artisan potter Lady Norah Bradley-Birt (1875–1946), British aristocrat Nora Brambilla (born 1964), Italian and German theoretical physicist Nora Vagi Brash (1944–2024), Papua New Guinean author Nora Bretón, Mexican physicist Nora Brockstedt (1923–2015), Norwegian singer Nora Brownell (born 1947), American businessman Nora Brugman (born 1992), Spanish sailor Nora Jean Bruso (born 1956), American singer Nora Burglon (1896–1976), American author Norah Burke (1907–1976), British novelist and writer Norah Burnard (1902–1979), New Zealand school dental supervisor and journal editor Nora Calderwood (1896–1985), Scottish mathematician and professor Nora Callebout (1895–1995), British track athlete Nora Campos (born 1966), American politician Nora Cano (born 1994), Mexican actress and singer Nora Cardoza (born 1984), Mexican boxer Norah Carter (1881–1966), New Zealand photographer Nora Cecil (1878–1951), English-American actress Nora K. Chadwick (1891–1972), British philologist Norah Chambers (1905–1989), British prison of war chorale conductor Nora Chesson (1871–1906), English journalist and poet Nora Chipaumire (born 1965), choreographer and performer Nora Clench (1867–1938), Canadian musician Nora Stewart Coleman (1920–2005), First Lady of American Samoa Nora Collyer (1898–1979), Canadian modernist painter Nora Connolly, British actress Nora Conway (1920–2010), Irish badminton player Nora Cornolle (born 1989), French mixed martial artist Nora Cortiñas (1930–2024), Argentine social psychologist, activist, human rights defender Nora Coton-Pélagie (born 1988), French footballer Nora Cuevas (born 1959), Chilean politician Nora Cullen (1905–1990), Argentine actress Nora Cundell (1889–1948), English painter Nora Daduut (born 1953), Nigerian academic and politician Nora Danish (born 1982), Malaysian actress, singer, host and model Nora Dannehy (born 1961), American attorney Nora Marks Dauenhauer (1927–2017), Tlingit poet, short-story writer and Tlingit language scholar Nora David, Baroness David (1913–2009), British politician and life peer Nora Fontaine Davidson (1836–1929), American schoolteacher Nora Daza (1928–2013), Filipina chef, restaurateur, socio-civic leader, television host and best-selling cookbook author Nora Dean (1944–2016), Jamaican singer Nora Decter, Canadian author and university instructor Norah Demierre (born 2007), Swiss rhythmic gymnast Nora Demleitner (born 1966), American law professor Nora Denney (1927–2005), American actress Nora Dillon (1888–1984), English Girl Guide leader Nora Dimitrova (born 1996), Bulgarian footballer Norah Docker (1906–1983), English socialite Nora Domínguez, Argentine literary scholar Nora Dumas (1890–1979), Hungarian photographer Nora Dunblane (1879–19??), American actress and writer Nora Dunfee (1915–1994), American actress Nora Dunn (born 1952), American actress and comedian Norah Dunphy, UK architect and town planner Nora Eddington (1924–2001), American actress and socialite Nóra Edöcsény (born 1974), Hungarian triathlete Nora Lie Eghdami (born 1997), Norwegian footballer Nora Ekberg, known as Little Sis Nora (born 1996), Swedish singer Nora El Koussour (born 1994), Dutch actress Norah Elam (1878–1961), Irish-born British suffragette Nora England (1946–2022), American linguist Nora England (artist), British artist Nora Ephron (1941–2012), American writer Nóra Érfalvy (born 1970), Hungarian rhythmic gymnast Nora Espinoza, republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives Nora Ezell (1917–2007), African-American quilter Nora Fatehi (born 1992), Canadian-Moroccan dancer and actress Nora Federici (1910–2001), Italian statistician Nora Fernandes (born 1998), Indian footballer Nora Fernández (born 1999), Spanish artistic gymnast Nora Fingscheidt (born 1983), German film director and screenwriter Nora Fischer, several people Nora FitzGibbon (1889–1979), New Zealand nurse Norah Flatley (born 2000), American artistic gymnast Nora Kathleen Fletcher (1880–1976), Australian nurse Nora Forster (1942–2023), German-British music promoter Nora May French (1881–1907), American poet Nora Fridrichová (born 1977), Czech television presenter Norah Fry, advocate and campaigner Norah Fulcher, English watercolor portrait artist Nora Gal (1912–1991), Russian translator Nora Ruvalcaba Gámez (born 1967), Mexican politician Norah Gaughan (born 1961), American hand knitting pattern designer Nora Trueblood Gause (1851–1955), American humanitarian Norah Geddes, Scottish landscape architect Norah Gibbons (1952–2020), Irish children's advocate and social worker Nora Giménez (born 1957), Argentine politician Nora Ginzburg (born 1949), Argentine lawyer and politician Nora Gjakova (born 1992), Kosovo-Albanian judoka, Olympic champion Nora Neset Gjøen (born 1992), Norwegian footballer Nora Gomringer (born 1980), German and Swiss poet and writer Nóra Görbe (born 1956), Hungarian pop singer and actress Nora Gordon (1893–1970), British actress Nora I. Goreau (1921–2016), Panamanian marine biologist and teacher Norah Gorsen (1931–2020), British actress Nora Gould, Canadian poet Norah Neilson Gray (1882–1931), Scottish artist Nora Greenberg (born 1950), Israeli politician and LGBT rights activist Nora Gregor (1901–1949), Austrian actress Nora Griffith (1870–1937), Scottish Egyptologist and illustrator Nora Groce, British anthropologist Nora Grossman, American film producer Nora Gubisch (born 1971), French operatic mezzo-soprano Nora Guinn (1920–2005), American judge Nora Gulbrandsen (1894–1978), Norwegian porcelain designer Norah Gurdon (1882–1974), Australian painter Nora Guthrie (born 1950), American record producer Norah Hamilton (1873–1945), USA artist and educator Nora Spencer Hamner (1895–1971), American nurse Nora Hamzawi (born 1983), French humorist, comedian and actor Nora Harkin (1910–2012), Irish republican socialist and activist Nora Heald (1882–1961), British journalist and editor Nora Hendrix (1883–1984), African-Canadian vaudeville performer Nora Heroum (born 1994), Finnish footballer Nora Herting, American artist Nora Heysen (1911–2003), Australian artist Nora Hirano (born 1978), Japanese comedian Nóra Hoffmann (born 1985), Hungarian ice dancer Norah M. Holland (1876–1925), writer Nora Holt (1885–1974), American critic, composer, singer and pianist Nora Hood (–1871), Aboriginal Australian religious figure Nora Houfová (1924–2024), Austrian actress Norah Hoult (1898–1984), Irish writer Nora Houston (1883–1942), American painter Norah Howard (1900–1968), British actress Nora Hsiung Chu, Chinese educator Nora Ikstena (1969–2026), Latvian writer and cultural manager Nora Illi (1984–2020), Swiss Muslim activist Norah Isaac (1914–2003), Welsh author and advocate Nora Istrefi (born 1986), Kosovo-Albanian singer Nora Iuga (born 1931), Romanian poet, writer and translator Nora Ivanova (born 1977), Austrian sprinter Nora Foss al-Jabri (born 1996), Norwegian singer Nora Jacobson, American filmmaker Norah C. James (1896–1979), English novelist Nora Jenčušová (born 2002), Slovak road cyclist N. K. Jemisin (born 1972), American science fiction and fantasy writer Norah Jeruto (born 1995), Kenyan steeplechase runner Nora Johnson (1933–2017), American novelist Nora Johnston, English carillonneur and inventor Norah Jones (born 1979), American singer Nora Junco, Spanish politician Nora Kaye (1920–1987), American ballet dancer and choreographer Nora Okja Keller (born 1966), Korean-American author Nora Kelly, several people Nora Kerin (1881–1970), British theatre actress and stage beauty Nora Khan (born 1983), American art critic, curator and writer Nora Kirkpatrick (born 1984), American actress Nora Köppel (born 1972), Argentine weightlifter Nora Kovach (1931–2009), Hungarian ballerina Nora Krug, German-American author and illustrator