Dora
2025 SSA
About Dora
Dora is poised for a comeback, right behind Laura, Nora, Cora, and Flora. First-time parents who haven't watched cartoons in a couple of decades should be aware of the Dora the Explorer connection, which has its pluses and minuses.
Dora became popular during the Victorian era largely via Dora Spenlow, the "child-wife of Dickens's David Copperfield. Two noted real-life bearers were Dora Maar (born Henriette), a Picasso model and muse, and Dora Carrington, a British painter who was a member of the Bloomsbury Group. The name suffered a bit of a setback from being the title of the long-running comic strip, Dumb Dora..
While Dora can stand on its own, it can also be short for Dorothea, Dorothy, or Theodora. Dory is a cute diminutive.
Pronounced DOR-uh.
As of October 2026, Dora ranked #2388 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #46 in 1881, Nameberry popularity #642.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #2,155 | 88 | 49.3 |
| 2015 | #1,973 | 101 | 56.6 |
| 2016 | #1,856 | 111 | 62.6 |
| 2017 | #1,978 | 100 | 57.9 |
| 2018 | #2,408 | 75 | 44.1 |
| 2019 | #1,935 | 102 | 60.8 |
| 2020 | #2,399 | 73 | 45.2 |
| 2021 | #2,254 | 82 | 50 |
| 2022 | #2,511 | 71 | 43.3 |
| 2023 | #2,592 | 68 | 42.4 |
| 2024 | #2,602 | 67 | 41.4 |
| 2025 | #2,388 | 75 | 46.7 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Dora.
- Pauline
- Gloria
- Georgienne
- Francine
- Edna
- Bernice
- Doris
- Gretchen
- Phyllis
- Susanna
- Barbara
- Shirley
- Joan
- Pamela
- Geraldine
- Velma
- Norma
- Shoshannah
- Maryellen
- Gladys
Dora on lists
Famous Doras
- Dora May Bryan
English actress and comedienne
- Dora Gaitskell
Baroness Gaitskell, British politician
- Dora Pejačević
Croatian composer
- Dora Meeson
Australian painter
- Dora Mavor Moore
Canadian actress
- Dora Maar (born Henriette Theodora Markovitch)
French painter and muse of Picasso
- Dora de Houghton Carrington
English painter
- Dora Anastasiou
Miss Cyprus 2007
- Dora Altmann
German actress
- Dora
Countess Russell, British feminist author; wife of philosopher Bertrand Russell
- Dora Petrova Gabe
Bulgarian poet
- Theodora "Dora" Bakoyannis
Greek politician
- Dorothy "Dora" Wordsworth
daughter of poet William Wordsworth
Dora in pop culture
- Dora Marquez
main character in animated series "Dora the Explorer"
- Dora Winifred "D.W." Reed
a main character in the Arthur series
- Dora
character in Charles Dickens's "David Copperfield"
- Dick and Dora
main characters in a series of British primary (elementary) school reading textbooks
- 'Doomsday' Dora Petty
character on animated series Sparticle Mystery
- Dora Lacey
character in the "St Clare" book series by Enid Blyton; twin sister Daphne