Given name & surname
Dora
“gift”
Dora gathers several longer names into one short form, connected by the Greek element for “gift.”
Original GreekΔώρα
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Greek interpretation is “gift.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In English usage, Dora is a diminutive of Dorothy. In English usage, Dora is a short form of Theodora.
The story
William Wordsworth’s daughter Dorothy was known as Dora in adulthood. Dora Spenlow in Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield gave the name another prominent nineteenth-century literary association.
Dora through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 106,480
- 550 boys · 105,930 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 2,031 babies
- 2025
- 75
- #2,388 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −21%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 75 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 2,388 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 21.0% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 2,026 in 1921. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (14). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 61,606 as a first name in 2020; 1,124 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Dora’s family of names
In English usage, Dora is a diminutive of Dorothy. In Norwegian Nynorsk usage, Dora shares an earlier linguistic root with Tora. In Ukrainian usage, Dora is a transliteration of Дора.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Dora has relatives in 8 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
12 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Dorothyfull form · English
- Theodorafull form · English
- Isidorafull form · English
- Dorypet form
- Dorotafull form · Polish, Czech
- Dordiminutive · gmw-ecg
- Doriladiminutive · Spanish
- Dorkadiminutive · Czech
Show 1 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Dora
- Dora BakoyannisGreek politician 1954-
- Dora CarringtonBritish painter, photographer and decorative artist (1893–1932)
- Dora GabeBulgarian poet1885–1983
- Dora RussellBritish writer, feminist and socialist campaigner (1894-1986)
- Dora BryanBritish actress of stage, film and television (1923-2014)
- Heinrich RatjenGerman high jumper (1918–2008)
- Dorothea KöringGerman tennis player (1880–1945)
- Dora GersonGerman actress (1899-1943)
- Dora Marsdenfeminist, journal editor, author (1882–1960)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Dora, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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