Debora

About Debora

Debora is a form of Deborah, the Hebrew name meaning “bee.” Used in Italian, Dutch, and German, it also appears beside accented Débora in other languages. Its biblical history is joined by the work of poet and visual artist Debora Greger, giving the spelling both ancient and contemporary literary connections.

Meaning and language forms

The Hebrew name Devora is the source of Deborah and Debora. The meaning “bee” remains the same across the family, even where the spelling and pronunciation change.

Italian Debora is approximately DEH-boh-rah, with three syllables and emphasis on the first. Dutch commonly places the emphasis on the middle syllable. The spelling therefore does not imply one pronunciation across every language.

Deborah preserves the familiar English biblical form, while Debra is a shortened English spelling. Devora and Devorah reflect the Hebrew family more directly.

Deb and Debbie are established short forms in the wider Deborah family. They can also serve as everyday options for someone called Debora, although the full three-syllable form has a different rhythm.

Deborah in the Bible

The Book of Judges presents Deborah as a prophetess and leader at a time when the Israelites are threatened by the Canaanites. Barak commands the army, and their story includes the defeat of the forces led by Sisera.

The biblical name is also borne by Rebecca's nurse. These are separate women, giving the name more than one appearance in the Old Testament.

Deborah remained established in Jewish naming. English Christian use expanded after the Protestant Reformation, and the name became particularly familiar among Puritans.

Debora belongs to that broad historical family while preserving a spelling customary in several continental European languages.

Debora Greger and the arts

Debora Greger grew up in Richland, Washington, studied at the University of Washington, and earned an MFA at the University of Iowa. Her work combines poetry with an interest in visual art and collage.

Her collection In Darwin's Room appeared in 2017. Its poems move between remembered and present landscapes, including Venice, London, and the sagebrush country of her childhood.

The book discovers connections between ordinary interiors and larger histories. A room can suggest another place or time, while familiar settings change when viewed through memory.

Greger's artwork has appeared on book covers and in The Writer's Brush, a collection of visual art by writers. Her teaching has also encouraged students to look to painting and other visual forms for inspiration.

That combination gives Debora an exact-spelling bearer whose creative work crosses the boundary between images and words.

American popularity

Debora's largest published annual count for girls in the United States came in 1957, with 2,371 births. Its strongest ranking was #161, first reached in 1956.

There were 63 girls named Debora in 2000 and 91 in 2010. In 2025, 78 girls received it, ranking #2,336, far below the mid-century peak.

How popular is Debora?

In 2025, Debora ranked #2,336 among girls in the United States, with 78 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1915; its largest annual count was 2,371 in 1957. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.