Names That Mean Coral

Coralie is a French name not often heard here, though she's gaining some recognition via Neil Gaiman's similar sounding spooky and lovely children's book, Coraline. Other literary appearances: Coralie is the stage name of an actress in Balzac's Lost Illusions, and a French girl in an 1850 Thackeray novel.

Coralie is currently very popular in French-speaking Quebec, and there is a contemporary French singer named Coralie Clement.

Coraline may not be original to Neil Gaiman's wonderful book of the same name, but it might as well be. Gaiman's young heroine Coraline Jones is constantly called Caroline but as a name Coraline is more distinctive and has a more mysterious feel. The 2002 novel Coraline was made into a 2009 animated film voiced by Dakota Fanning and nominated for an Academy Award.

A name with the kind of pan-cultural feel that's in vogue now... and forever. A French variant, Marjane, belongs to the author of the iconic graphic memoir Persepolis.

Coralia was the name of a dancing mermaid in a 19th century ballet. As Cora -- which has another root and means maiden -- rises, so may elaborations and related names such as Coralie, Coraline, and Coralia.

As a feminine name, best known as that of a demon-slayer in the anime and manga series InuYasha.

Coraline received a major popularity boost from the Neil Gaiman book and Henry Selick movie by the same name. As with many C names, this influenced the development of a K variant.

The original Greek version of a name that is perhaps more familiar as the French Coralie was used for fewer than five babies in the US last year. But this unusual-yet-familiar name might be ripe for the using by a parent in search of an unusual nature name and/or K name.