What does Cora mean?
Cora means “maiden” in its Greek name family. It is the Latinized form of Kore, another name for the goddess Persephone. The short modern spelling carries an ancient mythological connection without changing the name's clear two-syllable shape.
Cora can also be a familiar form of Corinna or Cordula. Corinna shares the Greek maiden root, while Cordula comes from Latin cor, “heart,” and means “little heart.” That gives Cora a separate Latin connection when it is used as a shortening of Cordula.
Ancient roots and longer forms
Greek Kore supplies the most direct explanation for Cora as an independent name. Corinna developed from the same Greek word and was borne by an ancient Greek lyric poet. Through this family, Cora belongs to a group that also includes Corinne and Corina.
Cordula follows a different history. It is a Latin name formed with a diminutive ending, turning “heart” into “little heart.” In German usage, Cora can serve as a short form of this longer name as well as Corinna.
Cora Munro in The Last of the Mohicans
James Fenimore Cooper helped establish Cora in English-speaking naming through The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826. Cora Munro and her sister Alice are daughters of a British commander caught in the conflict surrounding Fort William Henry in 1757.
Their dangerous journey brings them into the story of the scout Hawkeye and his companions Chingachgook and Uncas. Cooper's Cora gives the name a lasting place in nineteenth-century American historical fiction.
The novel's influence marks an important stage in Cora's modern history. Its Greek root is ancient, while its wider English use followed the popularity of a much later literary character.
Cora in The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead chose Cora for the central character of The Underground Railroad, which won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. She is a young enslaved woman on a Georgia plantation who escapes with Caesar and travels north in search of freedom.
Whitehead imagines the Underground Railroad as an actual system of tracks, tunnels, and stations. Cora's journey through this altered historical landscape gives the name a powerful modern literary association, centered on escape, pursuit, and the struggle to make a free life.
Pronunciation and related names
Cora is pronounced KOR-uh in English, with stress on the first syllable. Kora is a spelling alternative. Corie and Corrie are established familiar forms, and Coretta belongs to the same wider family. Corinna and Cordula provide longer forms from which Cora can be shortened.
Cora in the United States
Cora's best American girls' rank was No. 15 in 1880. Its largest annual count came much later, in 2019, with 3,602 babies. It ranked No. 113 in 2025, compared with No. 88 in both 2015 and 2020.
Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution
Meaning and history draw on the references below. American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling; counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.
How popular is Cora?
In 2025, Cora ranked #113 among girls in the United States, with 2,428 recorded uses. The U.S. birth records first list this spelling for girls in 1880; its largest annual count was 3,602 in 2019. Rankings count each spelling separately. They describe national use, so local familiarity can differ. The popularity chart shows whether the name has remained common, returned after a quieter period, or risen recently.