Dora (given name)

Dora (Greek: Δώρα) is a female name of Greek origin, being a shortened form or derived from Dorothea (Dorothy) and Theodora (masculine Theodore), meaning "gift" or in its full form "god's gift", from δῶρον, doron, "gift" + θεός, theos, "god". The name Dora can also be a short form of Isadora (Isidora). Doreen, Dorian, and Dorinda are other examples of names from the same root form.

The earliest form of the word doron is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀈𐀨, dora, meaning "gifts", written in the Linear B syllabic script, but it is not an anthroponym, it is only the plural (δῶρα) of said word; on the other hand, the names Theodora and Amphidora are attested in Linear B as 𐀳𐀃𐀈𐀨, te-o-do-ra, and 𐀀𐀠𐀈𐀨, a-pi-do-ra, respectively. The masculine counterpart of the latter, i.e. Amphidoros, is also found: 𐀀𐀠𐀈𐀫, a-pi-do-ro.

In Albanian, dora means "hand". In Russian, Dora can be a diminutive of the male first name Agafodor.