Cora

Greek

"maiden"

Cora Origin and Meaning

The name Cora is a girl's name of Greek origin meaning "maiden".

Cora is a lovely, old-fashioned girls' that has been recently rejuvenated by its contemporary-feeling simplicity. In fact, Cora seemed headed straight for the top of the popularity list when the coronavirus pandemic somewhat weakened its appeal.

Though she has never been completely out of favor, Cora has had her ups and downs. A Top 20 name in the 1880's, she had sunk to Number 876 in 1988 before reversing course yet again. A more recent inspiration is the appealing American-born Cora Crawley, Countess of Grantham on Downton Abbey.

In classical mythology, Cora—or Kore—was a euphemistic name of Persephone, goddess of fertility and the underworld. Kore was the name used when referencing her identity as the goddess of Spring, while Persephone referred to her role as queen of the Underworld.

Cora gained popularity as a given name after James Fenimore Cooper used it as the name of his heroine, Cora Munro, in his 1826 novel The Last of the Mohicans.

While a complete name unto itself, some parents who love Cora may want to use it as a short form for such names as Cordelia or Coraline. Cora's fashionable sisters include Clara, Nora, Corinne, Corinna and Coralie.

Cora Rank in US Top 1000

# 102 in the US

Cora Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 34 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Cora

• 102 US 2024
• 34 Nameberry 2025
• 47 Future 2028
• 135 England 2024
• 61 scotland 2024
• 77 Ireland 2024
• 80 New Zealand 2018

20 Names Similar to Cora

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Cora.

• Eloise
• Nora
• Adelaide
• Clara
• Penelope
• Mae
• Maisie
• Maeve
• Adeline
• Evelyn
• Esme
• Eleanor
• Eliza
• Ada
• Elsie
• Thea
• Elodie
• Audrey
• Isla
• Emmeline

Famous People Named Cora

• (Mary) Cora Urquhart Brown Potter, American stage actress
• Cora Corre English model; granddaughter of Vivienne Westwood
• Cora Emmanuel French model
• Cora Lijek American ambassador held hostage in Iran
• Anna Cora Mowatt American novelist/playwright/actress
• Cora Pearl (born Emma Elizabeth Crouch) English,French courtesan
• Cora Sandel (born Sara Cecilia Görvell Fabricius) Norwegian novelist
• Cora Walton birth name of Koko Taylor, American gospel singer
• Cora Alice Du Bois American cultural anthropologist
• Cora Miao Chinese actress
• Sexy Cora (born Carolin Ebert) German adult film actress
• Cora Coralina (born Ana Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto) Brazilian poet
• Cora Combs American pro wrestler
• Cora Lodencia Veronica Scott American spiritualist
• Cora Smith Eaton American suffragist
• Cora Sue Collins American child actress
• Cora Alvillar YouTube makeup artist
• Cora Eisenberg American puppeteer with husband Bil Baird
• Cora Jakes Coleman (b. 1988) daughter of televangelist T.D. Jakes
• Cora Kathryn Ann Altman daughter of Robert Reed Altman; granddaughter of director Robert Altman
• Cora Barucha Polis Reis (b. 2014) daughter of U.S. Congressman Jared Polis
• Cora Atwood (b. 2017) daughter of Youtube stars Roman Atwood and Brittney Smith

The name Cora in Pop Culture

• Cora the Maiden, epithet for the goddess Persephone, modern version of ancient greek Korē
• Cora Munro character in James Fenimore Cooper's "Last of the Mohicans"
• Cora Crawley Countess of Grantham, character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
• Cora Hale character on MTV's "Teen Wolf"
• Cora Simmons Brown, character in film "Meet the Browns"
• Cora Regina's mother on TV's "Once Upon a Time"
• Cora Cross character on British soap "EastEnders"
• Cora Ryan character in film Age of Consent (1969)
• Cora wife of Vernon Tull in As I Lay Dying (1930) by William Faulkner
• Cora Jenkins main character in Langston Hughes' "Cora Unashamed"
• Cora the turned,evil sister of Stella in the Disney series, "Star Darlings"
• Cora Canadian restaurant breakfast food chain
• "Cora " opera by Étienne Méhul
• Cora young girl in steerage in film "Titanic"
• Cora Bell character in "The Friday Society"
• Quorra character in film "Tron"
• Cora Veralux character in the movie "Ratchet & Clank"
• Cora Harper character in the game "Mass Effect: Andromeda"
• Cora means "hearts" in Latin
• Cora Mason character in "The Cage" series by Megan Shepherd
• Cora King main character in the ebook "Cora" by Relina Skye
• Princess Cora a character from Sofia the First
• Cora means Mermaid Crown
• Cora Tannetti main character from "The Sinner"