The Greek name usually translated as “Pandora” is Pandōra, written Πανδώρα in Greek. It combines pan, meaning “all,” with dōron, meaning “gift,” producing a name commonly understood as “all-gifted” or “all-giving.”
The spelling Pandōra uses a macron in some scholarly transliterations to show the long Greek vowel. English-language books usually simplify it to Pandora, while Greek editions use the original Greek alphabet. The name’s form is useful for distinguishing the mythological woman from later titles, places, and products that borrow the name.
Interpretation is not completely uniform because the compound can be understood in more than one grammatical sense. It may describe someone who has received gifts from all the gods or someone who gives all gifts. Hesiod’s story emphasizes the contributions made by different deities, so either translation connects the name with the creation scene. The basic linguistic elements, however, are stable: “all” plus “gift.”