Meaning: Its source is Eleonora, an Italian name meaning "Compassion."

Popularity: The name Norah ranked 858th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of 2000-2003 Social Security Administration statistics and 2935th in popularity for females of all ages in a sample of the 1990 US Census.

Though this name appears on the 1990 U.S. Census lists, it is used by only a small percentage of the general population.

Narrative: It developed as a short form of the names Eleonora, Honora and Leonora.

Though Nora is not Gaelic in origin, it has come to be especially associated with Ireland, and in Scotland is often used as a feminine form of Norman.