BabyNameScore

Cora

KOR·uh · 2 syllables

Cora is easy for English speakers to say and spell correctly on first read.

90/100

Strong Practical Fit

Balanced across pronunciation, everyday use, lifetime fit and international use.

Name Profile

  1. Pronunciation & Spelling

    Effortless

    A documented English pronunciation is on file: KOR-uh.

    91/100

  2. Everyday Use

    Low risk

    95/100

  3. Growing Up

    Strong lifetime fit

    Short enough to work in every register without a nickname.

    86/100

  4. International Use

    Broad international fit

    Works cleanly across the assessed languages and writing systems.

    85/100

NAME DETAILS

CLOSE SPELLINGS
Cara
ORIGIN & HISTORY

About the name

Cora is the Latinized form of Kore, the Greek epithet for Persephone in her springtime, maiden identity as Demeter's daughter, distinct from her separate role as Hades's underworld queen — one of Greek mythology's most consequential dual-identity figures, whose seasonal abduction myth explained the cycle of the seasons. Despite this ancient root, Cora saw little English-language given-name use until James Fenimore Cooper's 1826 novel 'The Last of the Mohicans' launched it into circulation.

  1. Κόρη (Kore, Ancient Greek). "Maiden"/"girl," as the Latinized form of Kore, the Greek epithet for Persephone in her role as daughter of Demeter. Cora was not commonly used as an English-language given name until James Fenimore Cooper employed it for a character in his 1826 novel 'The Last of the Mohicans' — an unusually well-documented case of a single literary work directly launching a name's mainstream adoption.
  2. Mythological and religious contextKore ("the Maiden"), the Greek root behind Cora, was the epithet by which Persephone was known specifically in her identity as the young daughter of the harvest goddess Demeter, associated with spring and the growth of crops — distinct from her separate identity as Hades's wife and Queen of the Underworld. In the central myth, Persephone/Kore was abducted by Hades while picking flowers and tricked into eating pomegranate seeds in the Underworld, binding her to spend part of each year there and part with her mother on Olympus — the mythological basis for the changing seasons, and among the most significant narratives in Greek religious practice (celebrated in the Eleusinian Mysteries).
POPULARITY

Cora over time

United States
#113RANK

Rank #113 gives national context, not a classroom forecast.

Recognizable without feeling automatic. Ranked #113 in the U.S., 2025.

SourceU.S. Social Security Administration · 2025 release

Pronunciation & Forms

SAY IT

KOR·uh

STRESS ON THE FIRST SYLLABLE

CLOSE SPELLINGS
  • Cara
OTHER-LANGUAGE FORMS
  • Korethe Greek root form
PRACTICAL LIFE

How This Name Lives

AT SCHOOL & DAY TO DAY

Short, easy to say, and currently well-established, so it will not feel unusual among peers.

INTO ADULTHOOD

Its Greek mythological association with a goddess of dual identity gives Cora a quietly substantial register in adult contexts, reinforced by its literary use in a foundational American novel.

Cultural Footprint

A Latinized Greek mythological name that did not see common English-language given-name use until popularized by a specific literary source in the early 19th century.

TRACEABLE ORIGIN
  1. Kore/PersephoneGreek mythology
  2. Cora MunroThe Last of the Mohicans
  3. Cora LijekIran hostage crisis

Community Impressions

Cora is the Latinized form of Kore, the Greek name for Persephone in her identity as Demeter's maiden daughter — one half of a goddess whose seasonal abduction by Hades explained, in Greek belief, why the seasons change every year. Despite that ancient root, the name saw little English use until James Fenimore Cooper gave it to a central character in 'The Last of the Mohicans' (1826), a striking case of a single novel launching a name's popularity.

How this name is commonly received · not used in the score

More about Cora

FORMALITY

Functions as a complete standalone name in both formal and informal contexts.

Names around it

Persephone
EDITORIAL SYNTHESIS

The Decision

Cora is spelled without unusual letter patterns, and it holds up in everyday use. Surname-dependent compatibility remains unassessed until a surname is added.

STRENGTH

A documented English pronunciation is on file. Short enough to work in every register without a nickname.

BEST FIT

Everyday Use is the strongest-scoring part of this name — no obvious nickname traps, rhymes, or initial issues detected.

FULL-NAME CHECK

See how it works with a surname.

Cora