Aurora

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Aurora

Gender: Feminine
Language: English, German
Etymology:
Aurora is the Roman Latin name for a goddess of the dawn.

History:
Aurora, a Roman mythological name, was not used as a name during its own time. However, it was revived in England, Germany, France after the Renaissance, when “classical” names and ideas were trendy. Aurora can often be found in poetry of the time.

Aurora became a little more common after after publication of Elizabeth Barret Browning’s Aurora Leigh in 1856. It became a little more common still in the 1890s thanks to Tchaikovsky’s ballet Sleeping Beauty with the princess named Aurora.

Pronunciation: au-roar-ah.

Alternates:
French: Aurore.

Famous Bearers:
Religious Figures:
Aurora
The Roman goddess of the dawn. Called Eos in Greek mythology.

Popularity:
Percentage from the 1990 U.S. Census:
0.024 % named Aurora
0.001 % named Aurore

Popularity of Aurora:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1875: 967th most popular.
1880: 738th most popular.
1881: 740th most popular.
1882: 678th most popular.
1883: 615th most popular.
1884: 640th most popular.
1885: N/A
1886: 778th most popular.
1887: 586th most popular.
1888: 724th most popular.
1889-1890: N/A
1891: 695th most popular.
1892: 726th most popular.
1893: 644th most popular.
1894: 811th most popular.
1895: 815th most popular.
1896: 610th most popular.
1897: 786th most popular.
1898: 920th most popular.
1899: 791st most popular.
1900: 803rd most popular.
1901: 630th most popular.
1902: 797th most popular.
1903: 628th most popular.
1904: 612th most popular.
1905: 518th most popular.
1906: 602nd most popular.
1907: 489th most popular.
1908: 546th most popular.
1909: 516th most popular.
1910: 522nd most popular.
1911: 516th most popular.
1912: 474th most popular.
1913: 533rd most popular.
1914: 539th most popular.
1915: 517th most popular.
1916: 471st most popular.
1917: 481st most popular.
1918: 441st most popular.
1919: 440th most popular.
1920: 397th most popular.
1921: 371st most popular.
1922: 393rd most popular.
1923: 360th most popular.
1924: 361st most popular.
1925: 370th most popular.
1926: 375th most popular.
1927: 358th most popular.
1928: 362nd most popular.
1929: 348th most popular.
1930: 378th most popular.
1931: 405th most popular.
1932: 407th most popular.
1933: 443rd most popular.
1934: 447th most popular.
1935: 456th most popular.
1936: 463rd most popular.
1937: 494th most popular.
1938: 482nd most popular.
1939: 500th most popular.
1940: 556th most popular.
1941: 541st most popular.
1942: 499th most popular.
1943: 490th most popular.
1944: 508th most popular.
1945: 496th most popular.
1946: 543rd most popular.
1947: 534th most popular.
1948: 590th most popular.
1949: 615th most popular.
1950: 567th most popular.
1951: 635th most popular.
1952: 624th most popular.
1953: 659th most popular.
1954: 712th most popular.
1955: 702nd most popular.
1956: 733rd most popular.
1957: 785th most popular.
1958: 820th most popular.
1959: 822nd most popular.
1960: 767th most popular.
1961: 871st most popular.
1962: 791st most popular.
1963: 844th most popular.
1964: 838th most popular.
1965: 750th most popular.
1966: 744th most popular.
1967: 769th most popular.
1968: 807th most popular.
1969: 936th most popular.
1970: 833rd most popular.
1971: 797th most popular.
1972: 844th most popular.
1973: 763rd most popular.
1974: 787th most popular.
1975: 789th most popular.
1976: 779th most popular.
1977: 809th most popular.
1978: 876th most popular.
1979: 813th most popular.
1980: 792nd most popular.
1981: 772nd most popular.
1982: 721st most popular.
1983: 866th most popular.
1984: 782nd most popular.
1985: 796th most popular.
1986: 785th most popular.
1987: 722nd most popular.
1988: 799th most popular.
1989: 723rd most popular.
1990: 666th most popular.
1991: 720th most popular.
1992: 667th most popular.
1993: 608th most popular.
1994: 660th most popular.
1995: 647th most popular.
1996: 632nd most popular.
1997: 548th most popular.
1998: 492nd most popular.
1999: 507th most popular.
2000: 488th most popular.
2001: 420th most popular.
2002: 436th most popular.
2003: 372nd most popular.
2004: 321st most popular.

Popularity of Aurore:
Popularity (for newborns):
In the United States...
1880-1883: N/A
1884: 930th most popular.
1885-1890: N/A
1891: 750th most popular.
1892: 908th most popular.
1893: N/A
1894: 851st most popular.
1895: 858th most popular.
1896: 707th most popular.
1897: 735th most popular.
1898: 769th most popular.
1899: N/A
1900: 861st most popular.
1901: 961st most popular.
1902: 937th most popular.
1903: N/A
1904: 805th most popular.
1905: 849th most popular.
1906: N/A
1907: 841st most popular.
1908-2004: N/A

Selected Sources:
The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Withycombe, 1977, 3rd ed.
A Dictionary of First Names, Hanks and Hodges, 1990
The Penguin Dictionary of First Names, Pickering, 1999
The Wordsworth Dictionary of First Names, Mcleod and Freedman, 1995

The Social Security Administration Actuarial Note 139 (www.ssa.gov) - For popularity stats 1880-Present
The 1880 U.S. Census- For popularity stats 1850-1880, and other information (it is available on-line at www.familysearch.org)