Zora
A feminine name meaning "dawn" or "shining light" in Slavic languages.
Name Census estimates that about 5,065 living Americans carry the first name Zora. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Zora today is around 21 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Zora births was 2019 (353 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Zora. 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 Zora with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
5.1K
~ 1 in 67,671 Americans
Peak year
2019
353 babies that year
Average age
21
years old
2023 SSA rank
#918
Tracked since 1880
Census
Zora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 4,197 people with the first name Zora, which placed it at #4,448 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
#4,448
National first-name rank
People counted
4.2K
4,197 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
47.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zora is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.5%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Zora 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 Zora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White47.0% · 1,972
- Black or African American33.5% · 1,405
- Two or more races10.2% · 427
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 221
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 141
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 31
Gender
Gender distribution for Zora
Out of the 9,972 babies given the name Zora since 1880, 99.6% 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.
Zora as a male name
- Ranked #12,224 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2022 (10 births)
Zora as a female name
- Ranked #918 in 2024
- 289 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2019 (353 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zora leans strongly female. 4,106 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 82 male bearers (2.0%).
Popularity
Zora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Zora from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 1,662 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Zora 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 Zora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Zoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 36 states and territories. Texas, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Zora, while Nebraska, Delaware, Oregon recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 130 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Zora
The name Zora has its origins in the Slavic language family, with roots that can be traced back to ancient Slavic tribes. It is believed to have derived from the Proto-Slavic word "zor," which means "dawn" or "morning light." This connection suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon children born during the early hours of the day or as a symbolic representation of new beginnings.
In the Serbo-Croatian language, the name Zora is a feminine form that directly translates to "dawn" or "aurora." This usage highlights the name's association with the first rays of sunlight and the promise of a new day. Similar spellings and variations of the name can be found in other Slavic languages, such as Zorka in Polish and Zora in Bulgarian.
While the name's exact origin is uncertain, it has been documented in ancient Slavic texts and historical records. One notable mention is in the Serbian epic poem "The Mountain Wreath" by Petar Petrović Njegoš, where a character named Zora is portrayed as a symbol of beauty and purity.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Zora. One of the earliest recorded instances is Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960), an American author, anthropologist, and filmmaker who was a prominent figure in the Harlem Renaissance. Her seminal work, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," is considered a classic of African-American literature.
Another famous bearer of the name was Zora Arkus-Duntov (1909-1997), a Belgian-born American engineer who is widely regarded as the "Father of the Corvette." His contributions to the development and performance of the iconic American sports car earned him a place in automotive history.
In the realm of science, Zora Nušić (1859-1942) was a Serbian physicist and chemist who made significant contributions to the study of radioactivity. She was the first woman in Serbia to earn a doctoral degree and paved the way for future generations of female scientists.
The name Zora has also been associated with artistic expression. Zora Neale Hurston's literary works celebrated the richness of African-American culture, while Zora Pyrvanova (1900-1986) was a renowned Bulgarian actress and director who left an indelible mark on the country's theater scene.
Lastly, Zora Yakovleva (1944-2017) was a Russian actress who achieved widespread acclaim for her performances in Soviet and Russian cinema. Her portrayal of strong, resilient women earned her numerous awards and a place in the hearts of audiences across the former Soviet Union.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Zora
People
Zora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Zora as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Z
Other first names starting with Z with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Zora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Zora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5,065 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Zora 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 67,671 US residents.
Is Zora a common name?
We classify Zora as "Rare". It ranks above 96.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 9,972 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Zora most popular?
The single biggest year for Zora was 2019, when 353 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Zora is about 21 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Zora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 4,197 people with the name Zora, or 1.39 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #4,448 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 Zora 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 Zora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Zora leans strongly female. 4,106 people counted with this name were female (98.0%), compared with 82 male bearers (2.0%). 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 Zora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Zora is White at 47.0%. The next largest groups are Black (33.5%) and Two or More Races (10.2%). 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 Zora most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Zora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.0% (1,972 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 Zora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Zora a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Zora 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 Zora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Zora 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 Zora 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 are named Zora?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.