Leora
Light, illumination; a Hebrew name derived from the Hebrew word "or" meaning light.
Name Census estimates that about 4,497 living Americans carry the first name Leora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Leora today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Leora births was 1921 (255 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Leora. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Leora with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
4.5K
~ 1 in 76,218 Americans
Peak year
1921
255 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1917 SSA rank
#1,529
Tracked since 1880
Census
Leora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,552 people with the first name Leora, which placed it at #4,196 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
#4,196
National first-name rank
People counted
4.6K
4,552 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leora is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Leora 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 Leora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.1% · 3,557
- Black or African American9.8% · 447
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 209
- Two or more races4.0% · 182
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 79
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 78
Gender
Gender distribution for Leora
Out of the 11,961 babies given the name Leora since 1880, 99.9% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Leora as a male name
- Ranked #3,793 in 1917
- 6 male births in 1917
- Peak: 1917 (6 births)
Leora as a female name
- Ranked #1,529 in 2024
- 140 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1921 (255 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leora appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,545 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Leora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Leora from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 2,165 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Leora 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 Leora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Leoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 35 states and territories. New York, California, Ohio recorded the most babies named Leora, while Maryland, Massachusetts, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 166 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Leora
The name Leora is of Hebrew origin, derived from the Hebrew words "le'or" meaning "towards the light" or "unto the light." This name emerged during ancient times in the Middle Eastern region, particularly among Jewish communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Leora can be found in the Hebrew Bible, specifically in the Book of Proverbs. The name is mentioned alongside other virtuous feminine names, symbolizing wisdom, understanding, and enlightenment.
Throughout history, the name Leora has been associated with various notable figures. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Leora bat Shlomo, a renowned Jewish scholar and poet who lived in the 12th century CE in Spain. Her written works, including religious poetry and commentary on Jewish texts, contributed significantly to the intellectual landscape of her time.
Another prominent figure bearing the name Leora was Leora Auerbuch, a 19th-century Russian-Jewish writer and activist. Born in 1828, she dedicated her life to advocating for women's rights and social reform through her literary works and public speeches.
In the 20th century, Leora Dana became a respected American actress and dancer. Born in 1923, she graced the stage and screen with her performances and was recognized for her contributions to the performing arts.
The name Leora also found resonance in the field of science, with Leora Batnitzky, a renowned physicist born in 1931. Her groundbreaking research in the field of high-energy particle physics earned her numerous accolades and a place in the annals of scientific history.
Leora Rothenberg, born in 1944, was a celebrated American artist known for her vibrant abstract expressionist paintings. Her works were exhibited in prestigious galleries and museums, and she left an indelible mark on the contemporary art scene.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Leora, each leaving their unique imprint on their respective fields and contributing to the rich tapestry of human endeavor.
People
Leora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Leora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Leora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Leora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4,497 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Leora 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 76,218 US residents.
Is Leora a common name?
We classify Leora as "Rare". It ranks above 96.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,961 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Leora most popular?
The single biggest year for Leora was 1921, when 255 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Leora is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Leora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,552 people with the name Leora, or 1.51 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,196 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 Leora 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 Leora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Leora appears almost entirely female. Of the 4,545 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Leora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Leora is White at 78.1%. The next largest groups are Black (9.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Leora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Leora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.1% (3,557 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 Leora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Leora a female name?
Yes, 99.9% of people registered as Leora 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 Leora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Leora 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 Leora 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 Americans are named Leora?
See how many Americans are named Leora on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.