Cora
Say it: KOR-a
GirlMeans usually explained as "maiden"4 letters2 syllables
#86
in Ireland (2025)
#78 with spellings combined
65
babies in 2025
#68
best rank (2024)
1,934
babies since 1964
Up 94
10-year rank change
Cora through the years
Compare with another name →Show the numbers
| Year | Babies (girls) | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 65 | #78 |
| 2024 | 80 | #68 |
| 2023 | 71 | #78 |
| 2022 | 63 | #89 |
| 2021 | 56 | #99 |
| 2020 | 64 | #83 |
| 2019 | 48 | #114 |
| 2018 | 44 | #130 |
| 2017 | 50 | #119 |
| 2016 | 47 | #127 |
| 2015 | 33 | #172 |
| 2014 | 39 | #151 |
| 2013 | 33 | #172 |
| 2012 | 31 | #184 |
| 2011 | 44 | #137 |
| 2010 | 34 | #182 |
| 2009 | 36 | #168 |
| 2008 | 28 | #199 |
| 2007 | 36 | #164 |
| 2006 | 26 | #178 |
| 2005 | 21 | #204 |
| 2004 | 30 | #149 |
| 2003 | 27 | #159 |
| 2002 | 33 | #134 |
| 2001 | 26 | #159 |
| 2000 | 23 | #165 |
| 1999 | 25 | #149 |
| 1998 | 22 | #159 |
| 1997 | 15 | #254 |
| 1996 | 14 | #248 |
| 1995 | 24 | #181 |
| 1994 | 10 | #297 |
| 1993 | 19 | #204 |
| 1992 | 13 | #269 |
| 1991 | 16 | #237 |
| 1990 | 6 | #380 |
| 1989 | 14 | #250 |
| 1988 | 16 | #237 |
| 1987 | 19 | #225 |
| 1986 | 11 | #294 |
| 1985 | 13 | #267 |
| 1984 | 14 | #267 |
| 1983 | 18 | #242 |
| 1982 | 31 | #181 |
| 1981 | 25 | #212 |
| 1980 | 17 | #258 |
| 1979 | 28 | #197 |
| 1978 | 33 | #186 |
| 1977 | 26 | #200 |
| 1976 | 5 | #392 |
| 1975 | 28 | #182 |
| 1974 | 37 | #172 |
| 1973 | 27 | #201 |
| 1972 | 38 | #160 |
| 1971 | 45 | #147 |
| 1970 | 49 | #128 |
| 1969 | 33 | #164 |
| 1968 | 37 | #146 |
| 1967 | 24 | #165 |
| 1966 | 35 | #139 |
| 1965 | 32 | #142 |
| 1964 | 27 | #145 |
Source: CSO, Irish Babies' Names (VSA50, VSA60), CC BY 4.0. Spellings with and without fadas are combined; the CSO only recorded fadas from 2018.
★ What does Cora mean?
Usually explained as "maiden"
Usually traced to Greek Kore (maiden), a title of Persephone; made popular in English by a nineteenth-century novel.
Say it right
KORa
Some Irish parents use the spelling Córa.
The story of Cora
Cora has more than one possible source. Most often it is linked to the Greek kore, “maiden”, a title given to the goddess Persephone. It came into wider English use after James Fenimore Cooper gave it to one of his heroines in The Last of the Mohicans in 1826. A less common explanation connects it with the Irish cóir, “just” or “fair”, whose comparative form is cora, though this is rarely the source of the name.
In Ireland Cora was given to a few dozen girls a year in the 1960s, faded in the 1980s, and then came back strongly after 2015. Its best year was 2024, when 80 girls were named Cora or Córa and it reached number 68 on the combined count. The CSO counts the two spellings separately, and Cora on its own was number 77 that year. It has been more popular in Northern Ireland, where it reached 33rd in 2021.
Say it differently where you're from, or spotted something wrong? Tell us.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Cora (English proper noun)
- Wikipedia: Cora (name)
- CSO VSA60, Girls Names in Ireland with 3 or More Occurrences
At a glance
Similar names
Sibling ideas
Spellings counted here
| Spelling | 2025 | All years |
|---|---|---|
| Cora | 58 | 1,876 |
| Córa | 7 | 58 |
In Northern Ireland
#47 in 2025 with 39 babies. Best rank #33 (2021); 1,017 babies since 1997.
Source: NISRA, Open Government Licence.
Cora is also given to boys: 35 since 1976.