Cora

History

The current name Cora may be derived from a variety of origins. Its most prominent antecedents, however, lie in ancient Greece.

Ancient Greece

The Greek word κόρη (korē) can mean girl, maiden or daughter. In the latter sense it came to be an alternate name given to Persephone to denote her being the daughter of Demeter, who accordingly carries the epithet Μήτηρ (Mētēr), mother. Κόρη was used when addressing Persephone not as queen of the underworld, but as vegetation goddess.

Today's pronunciation of Cora is foreshadowed in some Greek dialects. In both Doric and Aeolic κόρη becomes κόρα (kora), in Doric it also appears as κώρα (kōra), thus phonetically resembling the current English name rather closely. The spelling κόρα is used especially in poetic writings, as in the following instance by Aeschylus:

ἔμολε δ᾽ ᾧ μέλει κρυπταδίου μάχας δολιόφρων ποινά:

ἔθιγε δ᾽ ἐν μάχᾳ χερὸς ἐτήτυμος Διὸς κόρα—Δίκαν δέ νιν

προσαγορεύομεν βροτοὶ τυχόντες καλῶς—

ὀλέθριον πνέουσ᾽ ἐν ἐχθροῖς κότον.

And he has come whose part is the crafty vengeance of stealthy attack,

and in the battle his hand was guided by her who is in very truth daughter of Zeus,

breathing murderous wrath on her foes.

We mortals aim true to the mark when we call her Justice.

As pointed out by H. Weir Smith, Δίκα ("Justice") can be read as a contraction of Δι(ὸς) κ(όρ)α, "daughter of Zeus".

Metaphorically, κόρη and its variants can also refer to a puppet; the pupil of the eye, because a small image is mirrored within, and hence figuratively also the apple of one's eye.

Ancient Rome

In its current spelling, Cora appears as a Latinisation of Persephone's epithet in Roman inscriptions. Fabia Aconia Paulina for example, who lived in the 4th century, was consecrated to Cora twice.

Of different, namely Celtic, descent is Cora as toponym for a town and river (today la Cure) in the Roman province of Gaul.

Modernity

In The Court of the Gentiles (1669), his extensive attempt to trace all ancient ideas and beliefs back to Hebrew scriptures, Theophilus Gale claims that Cora originated from the Hebrew הורה (hora).

The name Cora gained prominence among a wider audience through Jean-François Marmontel's novel Les Incas of 1777, where it is given to an Inca girl consecrated as a virgin to the sun. It is thus used much in accordance with the original Greek word. In view of his subject matter – the destruction of the Inca empire ("l'empire du Pérou") following that of the Aztec empire – Marmontel may have found another motive in the ethnic group of the same name, who resisted Spanish conquest until 1722, some 200 years longer than their neighbours (together referred to by him as "l'empire du Mexique").

Brought to fame by Marmontel, Cora inspired a series of other works, among them an opera by the French composer Étienne Méhul and a play by the German dramatist August von Kotzebue, Die Sonnenjungfrau (The Virgin of the Sun), both of 1791. Likely to have followed in this tradition, James Fenimore Cooper gave the name Cora to his heroine in The Last of the Mohicans of 1826.

People

Athletes

Cora Alicto (Low) (born 1980), track and field sprint athlete who competes for Guam

Cora Campbell (born 1974), Canadian water polo player

Cora Combs (1923–2015), American professional wrestler

Cora Farrell (born 1999), American curler

Cora Huber (born 1981), Swiss bobsledder

Cora Livingston (c. 1888 -1957), American professional wrestler

Cora Mildred Maris Clark (1885–1967), New Zealand hockey player, administrator, and nurse

Cora Olivero (born 1978), Spanish athlete

Cora Staunton (born 1981), Irish footballer

Cora Westland (born 1962), Dutch cyclist

Academics

Cora Baggerly Older (1875–1968), American writer and historian

Cora Baldock (born 1935), Australian-Dutch Sociologist

Cora Berliner (1890–1942), German economist and social scientist

Politicians

Cora Amalia Castilla (born 1961), Mexican politician and activist

Cora Brown (1914–1972), first African-American woman elected to a U.S. state senate

Cora Etter (1924–2020), Canadian politician

Cora Louisa Burrell (1889–1962), New Zealand National Party activist

Cora Mae Bryant (1926–2008), American blues musician

Cora Reynolds Anderson (1882–1950), American politician

Cora Taylor Casselman (1888–1964), Canadian federal politician

Cora Faith Walker (1960s–2022), American lawyer and politician

Cora van Nieuwenhuizen (born 1963), Dutch politician

Writers

Cora Almerino, Cebuano Visayan writer

Cora Cané (1923–2016), Argentine journalist

Cora Daniels, African-American author

Cora Lenore Williams (1865–1937), American writer and educator

Cora Linn Daniels (1852–1934), American author

Cora Minnett (born 1868), Australian author and actress

Cora Rigby (1865–1930), American journalist

Cora Rónai (born 1953), Brazilian writer, journalist, and photographer

Cora Semmes Ives (1834–1916), American writer

Cora Seton (born 1969), American author

Cora Sherlock (born 1976), Irish writer, blogger, and campaigner

Cora Stephan (born 1951), German writer

Cora Taylor (born 1936), Canadian writer

Cora Coralina (1889–1985), Brazilian poet

Performers

Cora Canne Meijer (1929–2020), Dutch mezzo-soprano and voice teacher

Cora Cardigan (1860–1931), stage name of Hannah Rosetta Dinah Parks, English flautist

Cora E. (born 1968), German hip-hop artist

Cora Folsom Salisbury (1868–1916), American musician and composer

Cora Gordon (1879–1950), English artist, writer, and musician

Cora Green (1895–after 1949), American actress, singer, and dancer

Cora LaRedd (1910–1968), American singer and dancer in the 1920s and 1930s

Cora Urquhart Brown-Potter (1857–1936), American stage actress

Cora Venus Lunny (born 1982), Irish violinist

Cora Waddell (born 1989), Filipino actress, fashion model, and video blogger

Cora Witherspoon (1890–1957), American actress

Kora Karvouni (born 1980), Greek actress

Others

Cora Lily Woodard Aycock (1868–1952), American political hostess

Cora Ann Pair Thomas (1875–1952), American Baptist missionary

Cora Webb Bass (1906–1987), American educator, WAACs officer

Cora Belle Brewster (1859–?), American physician, surgeon, medical writer, editor

Cora Bussey Hillis (1858–1924), American child welfare advocate

Cora Amalia Castilla (born 1961), Mexican politician

Cora Catherine Calhoun Horne (1865–1932), Black suffragist, civil rights activist, and Atlanta socialite

Cora Cohen (1943–2023), American artist

Cora Alta Ray Corniea (1889–1958), American conservationist

Cora Crane (1868–1910), American businesswoman, nightclub and bordello owner, writer, and journalist

Cora Diamond (born 1937), American philosopher

Cora Dow (1868–1915), American pharmacist

Cora Alice Du Bois (1903–1991), American cultural anthropologist

Cora Durand (1902–1998), Picuris Pueblo potter

Cora E. Simpson (1880–1960), American nurse and nursing educator

Cora Elm (1891–1949), American nurse in World War I

As a surname

Alex Cora (born 1975), Puerto Rican professional baseball player and team manager

Belle Cora (1827?–1862), American Madam of the Barbary Coast

Cat Cora (born 1967), American chef on Food Network's Iron Chef America

Joey Cora (born 1965), Puerto Rican former professional baseball player

Sexy Cora or Carolin Ebert (1987–2011), German actress, model, and singer

Stefanía Cora (born 1989), Argentine politician

Tayfun Cora (born 1983), Turkish footballer

Tom Cora (1953–1998), American cellist

Fictional characters

Cora, the main character of the 1915 film of the same name directed by Edwin Carewe

Cora Crawley, from the series Downton Abbey

Cora Cross, from the United Kingdom soap EastEnders

Cora Dithers, from the comic strip Blondie

Cora Flange, from Carry On Abroad

Cora Peterson, from the 1966 science fiction film Fantastic Voyage

Cora Mills (also known as the Queen of Hearts), from the fantasy-drama series Once Upon a Time

Cora Ann Milton, from The Ringer, a play by Edgar Wallace

Cora Munro, heroine of The Last of the Mohicans, by James Fenimore Cooper

Cora Tannetti, from the Netflix original series The Sinner

Cora Hale, from the MTV series Teen Wolf

Cora Hamilton, from the 2017 film Rip Tide

Cora Cartmell, from Titanic

Cora Orvat, a super-agent from the Cora Orvat series of ironic science fiction crime/mystery noves by Kir Bulychev

Cora, protagonist of The Underground Railroad, by Colson Whitehead

Cora, a shopkeeper in television commercials for Maxwell House coffee portrayed by Margaret Hamilton