Cora

Girl or maiden, from Greek Kore.

Cora comes from Greek Kore, meaning “girl” or “maiden”, through a Latinized form. Kore was another name for Persephone in Greek mythology. That ancient connection gives this compact name a classical background without making its four letters feel elaborate. In English, Cora is pronounced /ˈkɔɹ.ə/, with two syllables and the emphasis at the beginning. The rounded first vowel and softer finish can give it a warm, unhurried feel. German uses /ˈkoː.ʁa/, with a long o and a clearer final a; Kora is an alternative spelling found in German. There is a literary thread too: Cora Munro is a character in James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, published in 1826. For someone drawn to names with a story behind them, Cora brings that nineteenth-century association alongside its much older Greek roots.

Etymology: A Latinized form of Greek Kore, a name for Persephone. Cora can also be a short form of longer names such as Cornelia; that is a separate naming route.