Meaning & origin
What it means
Kora is a form of Cora. Cora goes back to a word meaning “maiden.”
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Greek.
How it developed
In German usage, Kora is a short form of KORDULA.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1942. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In German use, Kora is a variant 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
Kora through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,541
- 0 boys · 9,541 girls
- Most popular year
- 2022
- 682 babies
- 2025
- 603
- #491 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +10%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 603 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 491 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 9.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (66). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 5,518 as a first name in 2020; 292 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Kora’s family of names
In German usage, Kora is a short form of KORDULA. In German usage, Kora has a related form in Cora. In Polish usage, Kora has a conventional equivalent in the French form Cora.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Kora has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Ancient Greek roots to each of them.
4 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Coravariant · German, English
- Korivariant
- Korravariant
- Koreyvariant
- Koryvariant
- Korievariant
- Korahvariant
- Korinnavariant · German
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Kora
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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