Dora
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. A diminutive of Dorothy used since early 19th century. Sometimes also short for Theodora or Isidora.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Dora (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Dora has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2018. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | – |
| 2006 | – |
| 2007 | 2 |
| 2008 | – |
| 2009 | 4 |
| 2010 | 3 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 3 |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2014 | 5 |
| 2015 | – |
| 2016 | 4 |
| 2017 | 6 |
| 2018 | 7 |
| 2019 | 5 |
| 2020 | 3 |
| 2021 | 6 |
| 2022 | 6 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 548 |
| 2000 | 522 |
| 2001 | 503 |
| 2002 | 485 |
| 2003 | 465 |
| 2004 | 449 |
| 2005 | 437 |
| 2006 | 424 |
| 2007 | 408 |
| 2008 | 408 |
| 2009 | 398 |
| 2010 | 389 |
| 2011 | 376 |
| 2012 | 365 |
| 2013 | 351 |
| 2014 | 355 |
| 2015 | 349 |
| 2016 | 352 |
| 2017 | 355 |
| 2018 | 354 |
| 2019 | 356 |
| 2020 | 351 |
Dora in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Dora.Hi! My name is Dora.
- Dora ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Dora called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Dora har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Dora has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Doras mamma är lärare.Dora's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Doras mamma is Dora's mum.
More names
Questions about Dora
How do you pronounce Dora in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Dora in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Dora mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Ancient Greek. A diminutive of Dorothy used since early 19th century. Sometimes also short for Theodora or Isidora.
How popular is Dora in Sweden?
6 babies were named Dora in 2022. In 2020, 351 people in Sweden had Dora as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2018 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.