Dora (given name)

Dora (Greek: Δώρα) is a female name of Greek origin being a shortened form or derived from Dorothea (Dorothy), Theodora[1] meaning "Gift" or in its full form "God's Gift", from δῶρον, doron, "gift"[2] + θεός, theos, "god".[3] The name Dora can also be a short form of Isadora, Isidora and other such compound names. The earliest form of the word doron is the Mycenaean Greek 𐀈𐀨, do-ra, meaning "gifts", written in the Linear B syllabic script, but it is not an anthroponym, it is only the plural (δῶρα) of said word;[4] 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.[5]

In Albanian, dora means 'hand'. In Russian, Dora can be a diminutive of the male first name Agafodor.[6]