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.

# 93 in the US

Cora Rank in US Top 1000

# 20 on Nameberry

Cora Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Cora Popularity

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

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"

Cora in Nameberry Blog Posts