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The short answer
Norah is a feminine English and Irish name that Behind the Name treats as a variant of Nora, itself a short form of Honora or Eleanor. It is pronounced NOR-ə. Behind the Name separately lists a same-spelled Arabic name, an alternate transcription of Nura, so a person named Norah may in practice be tracing either origin. In the United States, Norah ranked #262 for girls in 2025.
Meaning and etymology
Behind the Name's primary entry for Norah describes it as a "variant of Nora", and Nora itself is documented as a "short form of Honora or Eleanor", a name popularized in literature by Henrik Ibsen's play A Doll's House (1879). Behind the Name also lists a distinct entry for the same spelling used as an Arabic name, an alternate transcription of Nura; the meaning of the Arabic root نور (nūr) is not glossed in the cached entries, so it is not verified here.
Editorial confidence: likely
Competing or overlapping origins
- Behind the Name lists a separate Arabic entry for the identical spelling Norah, an alternate transcription of Nura (see https://www.behindthename.com/name/norah-2); its root meaning is not verified in this pass.
Popularity
Norah ranked #262 for girls in the United States in 2025, per Social Security Administration data.
| Region | Year | Rank | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 2025 | #262 | ssa-2025 |
Nicknames, variants, and related names
Nicknames: Nonie
Related names: Honora, Eleanor, Nell
What the name feels like
Norah reads as a vintage-revival name: short, two syllables, and part of the same wave that has brought back Nora, Cora and Flora.
Style tags: vintage revival, two syllables, English/Irish
Editorial interpretation: This style read is editorial judgment, not linguistic fact. Whether a given Norah traces to the English/Irish Nora lineage or the separate Arabic entry documented by Behind the Name cannot be determined from spelling alone.
If you like this name
Names sharing Norah's short, vintage sound or its Nora/Eleanor family roots.
Similar by sound
Similar by meaning
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Norah mean?
Behind the Name treats Norah as a variant of Nora, a short form of Honora or Eleanor. A separate, identically spelled Arabic name (an alternate transcription of Nura) is also documented, though its root meaning is not verified in the sources used here.
Is Norah a popular name?
Norah ranked #262 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, according to Social Security Administration data.
Are Norah and Nora the same name?
Behind the Name lists Norah as a variant spelling of Nora, so the two are treated as the same underlying name in its English and Irish usage.
Sources
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Norah (1) — supports etymology, pronunciation, variants.
- Behind the Name: Meaning, origin and history of the name Nora (1) — supports etymology.
- U.S. Social Security Administration: Popular Baby Names — national data, year of birth 2025 — supports popularity.
