Given name & surname
Coretta
“from the hollow; of the churning waters”
Coretta is a variant of Corey. One Irish interpretation is “from the hollow; of the churning waters.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Coretta is a variant of Corey. One Irish interpretation is “from the hollow; of the churning waters.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Coretta is a variant of Corey. An origin associated with Corey is Old Norse. In English use, Coretta is a form of Cora. An origin associated with Cora is Greek.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1909. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Coretta is a form of Cora. The history of Cora gives this family its wider story. In mythological stories, Cora is a name for the goddess of the underworld.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Coretta through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,433
- 0 boys · 2,433 girls
- Most popular year
- 1968
- 336 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −62%
- Cooling
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 336 in 1968. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 2,023 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Coretta’s family of names
Coretta has a related form in Corey. Coretta is a form of Cora.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Coretta
- Coretta Scott KingAmerican author, activist, and civil rights leader; wife of Martin Luther King, Jr.1927–2006
- Coretta BrownAmerican sports coach and basketball playerborn 1980
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
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