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),[1][2] meaning "gift" or in its full form "god's gift", from δῶρον, doron, "gift"[3] + θεός, theos, "god".[4] 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.[1]

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;[5] 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.[6]

In Albanian, dora means "hand". In Russian, Dora can be a diminutive of the male first name Agafodor.[7]