Given name & surname
Zora
“born at dawn; aurora”
Zora is used as a given name and a surname. One Slavic interpretation is “born at dawn; aurora.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Slavic interpretation is “born at dawn; aurora.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Slavic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Zora through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,248
- 46 boys · 10,202 girls
- Most popular year
- 2019
- 353 babies
- 2025
- 273
- #969 for girls · #8,906 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +20%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 264 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 969 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 18.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 353 in 2019. It also appeared in 9 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (24). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 4,188 as a first name in 2020; 502 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.
Zora’s family of names
In Czech usage, Zora has a diminutive in Zorka. Zora has a related form in Zori. Zora has a related form in Zory.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Zora has relatives in 6 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
4 related names in 6 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 15
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 4
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Zora
- Zora Neale HurstonAfrican American folklorist, novelist, short story writer, and Civic Rights advocate (1891–1960)
- Zorka JanůCzech actress (1921–1946)
- Zora FolleyAmerican boxer (1931–1972)1932–1972
- Zora KerovaCzech actress, dancer, singer, and modelborn 1950
- Zora Arkus-DuntovAmerican engineer1909–1996
- Zora DubljevićBosnian singer of Sevdalinkaborn 1938
- Zora YoungAmerican blues singerborn 1948
- Zora PalováSlovak glass artist (1947–2025)
- Zora KolínskaSlovak actress, singer, presenter and entrepreneur1941–2002
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Zora, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“of the morning star”
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“tit (bird)”
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“forest dweller”
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“meadow, lowland”
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