We’re always on the lookout for beautiful Irish baby names, and this one certainly caught our eye – and earns bonus points for its uniqueness and the lovely meaning behind it.
While we’ll always have a soft spot for the trending favourites amongst parents in Ireland, Fiadh, Éabha and Rían we’re looking at you!, we do believe there is lots of inspiration to be found further down the charts – and that’s where this pick comes in.
According to the CSO, a name needs to be used more than three times in any given year to appear on the nation’s charts and last year this name didn’t make the cut, in either of its spellings.
Some might recognise this Irish name from being that of a grandparent, seeing as it peaked in popularity back in 1964, although it has never made it into the top 150 spots in the past sixty years.
Without further ado, the name is Hanora, alternatively spelled Hanorah.
Hanora has Latin and Irish roots and stems from the Irish name Onóra meaning "honour" or "woman of honour".
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Popularity
Hanora first appeared on Irish charts when records began in 1964, with 22 baby Hanoras born. The name declined in popularity in the following years, disappearing between 1987 and 1995 and then again between 1996 and 2013.
In the 21st century, the name has appeared twice, being used three times in 2013 and 2020.
Hanorah on the other hand appeared on the national charts a handful of times until the 70s, before falling completely out of use until 2019 and four baby Hanorahs were born in 2024.
Former "Fair City" [an Irish drama TV show] star Aoibhín Garrihy chose the name Hanorah for her little girl back in 2018, revealing to EVOKE.ie the sweet story behind her the unique choice, which has ties to both her and her husband John Burke’s family.
"I first came across the name after an artist from Dingle painted us a picture of the sea for our wedding. Her name was Hanorah O’Neill and I thought, ‘that’s a gorgeous name’.
"Then we had a bit of serendipity because we discovered it is actually a family name. My great granny was Hanorah and John’s granny and great granny was also Hanorah but all of them went by shortened names like Nora or Noni.
"We don’t want to shorten it. We love the full name", she said at the time.
* This article was originally published on Rollercoaster.ie.
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