Hanora
A feminine name of Irish origin meaning "grace" or "favor".
Name Census estimates that about 18 living Americans carry the first name Hanora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Hanora today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Hanora births was 1918 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Hanora. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Hanora. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
18
~ 1 in 19,041,908 Americans
Peak year
1918
6 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#16,104
Tracked since 1889
Census
Hanora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 144 people with the first name Hanora, which placed it at #46,371 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#46,371
National first-name rank
People counted
144
144 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
85.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hanora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanora is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Hanora described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Hanora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.4% · 123
- Black or African American4.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.2% · 6
- Two or more races4.2% · 6
- Hispanic or Latino0.7% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1
Popularity
Hanora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Hanora from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, with 21 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1910s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Hanora by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Hanora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Hanora
The name Hanora is thought to have its origins in the Irish language, derived from the Gaelic name Onora. It is believed to have emerged around the 12th or 13th century in Ireland. Some linguists suggest that it may have stemmed from the Old Irish word "ónór," which means "honor" or "respect."
The earliest recorded instances of the name Hanora can be found in medieval Irish records and manuscripts. One notable figure bearing this name was Hanora O'Brien, a 16th-century Irish noblewoman from the powerful O'Brien dynasty of County Clare. She lived from approximately 1536 to 1601 and was known for her involvement in the Gaelic Irish resistance against English rule.
Another prominent figure with the name Hanora was Hanora Blake, an Irish republican activist born in 1875. She played a significant role in the Irish War of Independence and was a member of Cumann na mBan, a revolutionary women's organization. Blake was imprisoned for her activities but continued her advocacy for Irish independence until her death in 1952.
In the 18th century, Hanora Molloy was a notable Irish poet and songwriter. Born around 1715 in County Laois, she composed numerous songs and poems in the Irish language, preserving the traditional oral culture of her time. Her works remained popular among the Irish diaspora for generations.
Hanora Tweksbury, born in 1820, was an English author and philanthropist. She wrote several novels and worked tirelessly to improve the living conditions of the poor in London. Tweksbury founded several charitable organizations and was recognized for her efforts in promoting social reform.
In the late 19th century, Hanora Brennan was a celebrated Irish actress and singer. Born in 1868 in County Sligo, she gained fame for her performances in traditional Irish plays and musicals. Brennan was renowned for her powerful stage presence and her ability to captivate audiences with her interpretations of Irish folk songs and ballads.
People
Hanora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Hanora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with H
Other first names starting with H with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Hanora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Hanora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Hanora going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 19,041,908 US residents.
Is Hanora a common name?
We classify Hanora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 38.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 63 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Hanora most popular?
The single biggest year for Hanora was 1918, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Hanora is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Hanora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 144 people with the name Hanora, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #46,371 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Hanora in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Hanora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Hanora appears almost entirely female. Of the 140 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Hanora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Hanora is White at 85.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Hanora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Hanora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (123 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Hanora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Hanora a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Hanora in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Hanora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Hanora in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Hanora can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Hanora?
Find out how many people share the name Hanora on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.