Dora

Derived from the Greek dōron, meaning gift, Dora began as a pet form of Dorothea, Theodora, and Eudora. It emerged as an independent given name in nineteenth-century Britain and quickly crossed the Atlantic. By 1880, American parents were already recording it on birth certificates as a standalone entry.

Hearing the name today sets off a mild generational collision between an early-twentieth-century front parlor and an animated backpack. The historical record shows the parlor wins handily. A Dora is most readily pictured pruning hydrangeas or driving a sensible sedan with the sun visor permanently down. The average bearer is sixty-three, meaning she spent her youth carrying an older woman's name that finally fits.