Cora
Cora was given to 2,428 girls in 2025, #113 among girls’ names; 156,415 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 74,600 Americans named Cora and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (48% of everyone recorded); the median is 13 years old and half are between 7 and 39.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cora by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cora mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cora is “a female given name from Ancient Greek.”
Apparently brought up in English literature by James Fenimore Cooper in The Last of the Mohicans (1826), but compare a female heroine of this name in Jean-François Marmontel’s Les Incas (1777) and the Ancient Greek epithet Κόρη (Kórē) for Περσεφόνη (Persephónē). It could also refer directly to κόρη (kórē, “maiden”).
/ˈkoɹə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cora?
#113 among girls’ names, 2025
Cora fell from #88 in 2015 to #113 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 1.9 to 1.5 per 1,000.
3,602 babies in 2019, the peak
Cora peaked in 2019, when 3,602 girls were given it, #71 among girls’ names. The 2,428 births of 2025 are 67% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2,428 | #113 | 1.5 |
| 2024 | 2,580 | #103 | 1.6 |
| 2023 | 2,751 | #93 | 1.7 |
| 2022 | 3,076 | #75 | 1.9 |
| 2021 | 3,008 | #87 | 1.8 |
| 2020 | 3,036 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 2019 | 3,602 | #71 | 2.1 |
| 2018 | 3,596 | #73 | 2.1 |
| 2017 | 3,446 | #83 | 2.0 |
| 2016 | 3,374 | #87 | 1.9 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 3,403 | #88 | 1.9 |
| 2014 | 2,967 | #103 | 1.7 |
| 2013 | 2,586 | #127 | 1.5 |
| 2012 | 2,081 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 2011 | 1,555 | #203 | 0.88 |
| 2010 | 1,206 | #275 | 0.68 |
| 2009 | 1,100 | #303 | 0.60 |
| 2008 | 1,041 | #323 | 0.55 |
| 2007 | 918 | #353 | 0.48 |
| 2006 | 844 | #384 | 0.44 |
| 2005 | 673 | #452 | 0.36 |
| 2004 | 698 | #437 | 0.38 |
| 2003 | 695 | #434 | 0.38 |
| 2002 | 608 | #467 | 0.34 |
| 2001 | 604 | #460 | 0.34 |
| 2000 | 564 | #481 | 0.31 |
| 1999 | 529 | #491 | 0.30 |
| 1998 | 468 | #536 | 0.26 |
| 1997 | 325 | #669 | 0.19 |
| 1996 | 327 | #673 | 0.19 |
| 1995 | 313 | #679 | 0.18 |
| 1994 | 329 | #654 | 0.18 |
| 1993 | 297 | #718 | 0.16 |
| 1992 | 250 | #802 | 0.14 |
| 1991 | 255 | #801 | 0.14 |
| 1990 | 230 | #855 | 0.12 |
| 1989 | 247 | #780 | 0.13 |
| 1988 | 201 | #878 | 0.11 |
| 1987 | 195 | #873 | 0.11 |
| 1986 | 237 | #743 | 0.14 |
| 1985 | 221 | #768 | 0.13 |
| 1984 | 224 | #731 | 0.13 |
| 1983 | 225 | #730 | 0.13 |
| 1982 | 239 | #724 | 0.14 |
| 1981 | 221 | #749 | 0.13 |
| 1980 | 214 | #770 | 0.13 |
| 1979 | 194 | #814 | 0.12 |
| 1978 | 225 | #702 | 0.15 |
| 1977 | 223 | #699 | 0.15 |
| 1976 | 211 | #700 | 0.14 |
| 1975 | 182 | #775 | 0.12 |
| 1974 | 206 | #709 | 0.14 |
| 1973 | 195 | #726 | 0.13 |
| 1972 | 201 | #712 | 0.13 |
| 1971 | 222 | #687 | 0.13 |
| 1970 | 234 | #678 | 0.13 |
| 1969 | 201 | #703 | 0.12 |
| 1968 | 235 | #630 | 0.14 |
| 1967 | 235 | #620 | 0.14 |
| 1966 | 312 | #534 | 0.18 |
| 1965 | 373 | #493 | 0.21 |
| 1964 | 351 | #525 | 0.19 |
| 1963 | 403 | #480 | 0.21 |
| 1962 | 410 | #478 | 0.21 |
| 1961 | 419 | #476 | 0.21 |
| 1960 | 454 | #460 | 0.22 |
| 1959 | 454 | #454 | 0.22 |
| 1958 | 435 | #458 | 0.22 |
| 1957 | 516 | #407 | 0.25 |
| 1956 | 554 | #374 | 0.28 |
| 1955 | 576 | #365 | 0.29 |
| 1954 | 614 | #345 | 0.32 |
| 1953 | 647 | #323 | 0.34 |
| 1952 | 667 | #312 | 0.36 |
| 1951 | 672 | #300 | 0.37 |
| 1950 | 734 | #289 | 0.43 |
| 1949 | 848 | #264 | 0.50 |
| 1948 | 837 | #266 | 0.49 |
| 1947 | 848 | #259 | 0.48 |
| 1946 | 800 | #251 | 0.51 |
| 1945 | 752 | #244 | 0.58 |
| 1944 | 816 | #231 | 0.61 |
| 1943 | 874 | #225 | 0.63 |
| 1942 | 1,002 | #202 | 0.74 |
| 1941 | 1,007 | #186 | 0.83 |
| 1940 | 965 | #191 | 0.84 |
| 1939 | 1,040 | #183 | 0.95 |
| 1938 | 1,131 | #178 | 1.0 |
| 1937 | 1,141 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1936 | 1,008 | #181 | 1.0 |
| 1935 | 1,071 | #175 | 1.0 |
| 1934 | 1,112 | #168 | 1.1 |
| 1933 | 1,157 | #157 | 1.1 |
| 1932 | 1,136 | #169 | 1.1 |
| 1931 | 1,185 | #160 | 1.1 |
| 1930 | 1,272 | #161 | 1.1 |
| 1929 | 1,389 | #153 | 1.2 |
| 1928 | 1,393 | #155 | 1.2 |
| 1927 | 1,493 | #158 | 1.3 |
| 1926 | 1,477 | #158 | 1.2 |
| 1925 | 1,679 | #150 | 1.4 |
| 1924 | 1,630 | #155 | 1.3 |
| 1923 | 1,691 | #149 | 1.4 |
| 1922 | 1,762 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1921 | 1,828 | #140 | 1.5 |
| 1920 | 1,819 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1919 | 1,940 | #122 | 1.7 |
| 1918 | 1,916 | #124 | 1.7 |
| 1917 | 1,737 | #126 | 1.6 |
| 1916 | 1,899 | #114 | 1.8 |
| 1915 | 1,683 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 1914 | 1,500 | #105 | 2.0 |
| 1913 | 1,288 | #103 | 2.1 |
| 1912 | 1,253 | #98 | 2.2 |
| 1911 | 1,022 | #91 | 2.4 |
| 1910 | 1,079 | #85 | 2.7 |
| 1909 | 969 | #85 | 2.8 |
| 1908 | 962 | #83 | 2.9 |
| 1907 | 969 | #80 | 3.0 |
| 1906 | 952 | #77 | 3.2 |
| 1905 | 1,044 | #72 | 3.6 |
| 1904 | 993 | #70 | 3.6 |
| 1903 | 986 | #70 | 3.8 |
| 1902 | 1,081 | #62 | 4.1 |
| 1901 | 1,027 | #58 | 4.3 |
| 1900 | 1,389 | #55 | 4.6 |
| 1899 | 1,056 | #58 | 4.5 |
| 1898 | 1,304 | #51 | 5.0 |
| 1897 | 1,246 | #49 | 5.3 |
| 1896 | 1,204 | #52 | 5.1 |
| 1895 | 1,295 | #49 | 5.5 |
| 1894 | 1,319 | #46 | 5.9 |
| 1893 | 1,308 | #44 | 6.1 |
| 1892 | 1,419 | #39 | 6.7 |
| 1891 | 1,343 | #35 | 7.2 |
| 1890 | 1,386 | #36 | 7.3 |
| 1889 | 1,365 | #32 | 7.7 |
| 1888 | 1,433 | #31 | 8.0 |
| 1887 | 1,257 | #27 | 8.6 |
| 1886 | 1,231 | #28 | 8.5 |
| 1885 | 1,253 | #23 | 9.4 |
| 1884 | 1,244 | #23 | 9.6 |
| 1883 | 1,081 | #24 | 9.6 |
| 1882 | 1,076 | #21 | 10.0 |
| 1881 | 969 | #18 | 10.5 |
| 1880 | 1,045 | #15 | 11.5 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Cora a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cora has been given almost only to girls: 387 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cora: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cora, and how old are they?
74,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 48% of the 156,415 Americans ever recorded as Cora. The median Cora alive today is 13 years old; half are between 7 and 39.
The 2020 Census counted 58,912 people named Cora (58,793 women and girls, 119 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 64,104 born in the U.S. The Census count is 8% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 5,290 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 8,480 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,900 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 13,800 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 39,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cora born?
The states with the most babies named Cora are Texas, California and Pennsylvania, with 20% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 187 | #176 | 0.8× |
| California | 177 | #186 | 0.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 120 | #73 | 0.8× |
| Florida | 117 | #152 | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 115 | #76 | 1.0× |
| New York | 102 | #159 | 0.5× |
| North Carolina | 82 | #121 | 1.6× |
| Virginia | 80 | #82 | 1.4× |
| Michigan | 79 | #97 | 0.8× |
| Minnesota | 78 | #50 | 1.0× |
Where Cora is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cora is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 1.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cora with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 204,182 babies since 1880, Cora is the most given (77% of them). In 2025 it was given to 2,428 of their 3,624 babies (67%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cora
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cora and names like it
- Compare Cora and KoriBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sCora peaked in 2019.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cora since 1910.
- Ancient Greek namesWiktionary’s origin for Cora: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2019The year the most babies were named Cora.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Cora alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with CMost given first.