Head to head · Girls' names
Catalina vs Cora
#111 vs #113 in 2025
Catalina is a whisker ahead (#111 vs #113 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Catalina is climbing the charts fast, Cora is stepping back from its peak.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
The tape is even: Catalina and Cora each lead 3 measures of 6.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Catalina —, Cora #24 — Cora higher
- 1890s: Catalina #1332, Cora #46 — Cora higher
- 1900s: Catalina #1470, Cora #71 — Cora higher
- 1910s: Catalina #1290, Cora #109 — Cora higher
- 1920s: Catalina #815, Cora #150 — Cora higher
- 1930s: Catalina #913, Cora #171 — Cora higher
- 1940s: Catalina #1289, Cora #232 — Cora higher
- 1950s: Catalina #1375, Cora #363 — Cora higher
- 1960s: Catalina #1350, Cora #540 — Cora higher
- 1970s: Catalina #1183, Cora #720 — Cora higher
- 1980s: Catalina #1131, Cora #774 — Cora higher
- 1990s: Catalina #892, Cora #688 — Cora higher
- 2000s: Catalina #721, Cora #409 — Cora higher
- 2010s: Catalina #390, Cora #127 — Cora higher
- 2020s: Catalina #147, Cora #93 — Cora higher
Cora stood higher in every recorded decade — 15 of 15.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Catalina | Cora |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | — | #24 |
| 1890s | #1332 | #46 |
| 1900s | #1470 | #71 |
| 1910s | #1290 | #109 |
| 1920s | #815 | #150 |
| 1930s | #913 | #171 |
| 1940s | #1289 | #232 |
| 1950s | #1375 | #363 |
| 1960s | #1350 | #540 |
| 1970s | #1183 | #720 |
| 1980s | #1131 | #774 |
| 1990s | #892 | #688 |
| 2000s | #721 | #409 |
| 2010s | #390 | #127 |
| 2020s | #147 | #93 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
Around the world
Catalina
Not charting outside the US.
Cora
- Scotland#77
National statistics offices, latest published year.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Catalina
Traditionally read as "pure", though the original meaning is genuinely unresolved
The Greek original, Aikaterine, has no agreed source. The "pure" reading comes from Greek katharos and attached itself later, when the Latin spelling was reshaped as Katharina under Christian influence; older scholarship has also tried to connect it to the goddess Hecate. Both readings are serious, and neither has won.
Aikaterine → Catharina → Catalina
How it traveled
The line begins with the Greek Aikaterine, borne by Saint Catherine of Alexandria, whose cult spread across medieval Europe and pulled the name into almost every language it touched. In Latin it became Catharina; in Castilian Spanish it settled as Catalina, and stayed there — Catalina de Aragón, the Spanish princess who became Henry VIII's first queen, is the form's most famous medieval bearer.
Cora
maiden, young woman
From Greek korē. The same word was used as an epithet of Persephone. Cora also does double duty in English as a short form of longer names — Cordelia, Cornelia, Coraline, Coral — so some families arrive at it from that direction instead.
Korē → Cora
How it traveled
The root is the Greek korē, "maiden" or "girl", a word that also served as a title for Persephone in her role as daughter. Latinized to Cora, it sat mostly in classical texts until the eighteenth century, when English writers began using it as a given name.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Catalina
kah-tah-LEE-nah
That is the Spanish reading. In English-dominant settings it usually flattens to kat-uh-LEE-nuh. Both are widely heard in the US, and either is correct — worth deciding early which one you will offer when introducing her.
- Cata — The standard informal short form in Spanish-speaking families; rarely used as a full given name on its own.
- Lina — Taken from the end of the name; also exists independently as a given name in several languages.
- Cati — Informal, common in Spain and Latin America, sometimes written Katy in English-speaking settings.
- Cat — An English-language shortening, informal and usually school-age or later.
- Also Katie, Talina.
Cora
KOR-uh
Stress on the first syllable. English speakers reach it on the first try; the main confusion is spelling rather than sound, since Kora is used in German and Polish.
- Coco — Informal, used within families and among friends; also stands alone as a given name for some.
- Cori — Informal spoken short form; also an independent given name in its own right.
- Corrie — Informal, more common in older generations and in British usage.
- Cor — Clipped and affectionate, mostly household use.
Who has carried each name
Catalina
Catalina Sandino Moreno (b. 1981) — Oscar-nominated for Maria Full of Grace
Cora
No documented entry for Cora yet.
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Catalina if you want…
- a name on the way upup 68 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itCatalina runs 4 syllables, Cora 2
- plenty of nickname options6 recorded short forms — Cata, Lina and Cati
- a newer arrivalCatalina entered the US charts in 1893
Choose Cora if you want…
- a name past its most crowded yearsCora is stepping back from its peak
- a name with fewer syllablesCora is 2 syllables to Catalina's 4
- a name that charts abroad tooCora is on the national lists of Scotland
- a long American recordCora was already in use when US records began in 1880
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Catalina
Strengths
- An unbroken record from the early Christian centuries to now, in Greek, Latin, Spanish, Italian and English forms.
- Reads correctly in both English and Spanish without respelling, and has a direct equivalent in most European languages.
- Several established short forms already in real use — Cata, Cati, Lina, Cat — so nothing has to be invented.
To consider
- Two pronunciations circulate side by side in the US, the Spanish kah-tah-LEE-nah and the anglicized kat-uh-LEE-nuh. She will hear both, and will likely spend her life choosing which to correct.
- The K spelling, Katalina, exists and will be guessed at times, as will Catalena. Not constant trouble, but expect to spell it aloud.
- It is climbing steadily rather than sitting still, so it is likely to feel more common by the time she reaches school than it does tonight.
Cora
Strengths
- Two syllables, five letters, and pronounced as it looks for most English speakers — little correcting required.
- A documented line back to ancient Greek, with unbroken use in American records since they began.
- Works as a full name or as the short form of Cordelia, Cornelia, Coraline and Coral, which gives a family options either way.
To consider
- It sits in a dense field of near-rhymes: Nora, Dora, Aurora, Laura, Coraline. Expect the occasional mix-up, and think about how it sits next to siblings' names.
- Kora is the standard spelling in several European languages, so the C is worth spelling out when it matters.
- Most people currently carrying the name in the US are of grandparent or great-grandparent age, so some listeners will hear it as an older family name — which is exactly why others are drawn to it.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Catalina
55%chance Catalina feels dated by 2040
Catalina is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Cora
25%chance Cora feels dated by 2040
Cora peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Catalina and Cora in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
Still torn between Catalina and Cora?
Put both to the vote.
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More than two in the running? Settle it with a bracket or run the full comparison with your last name.
More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Catalina and Cora — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Catalina or Cora — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Catalina or Cora?
- Catalina, in 2025: Catalina ranked #111 with 2,456 babies; Cora ranked #113 with 2,428 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Catalina or Cora?
- Catalina. Over the last five years Catalina moved up 68 places; Cora moved down 25 places.
- Which is the older name, Catalina or Cora?
- Catalina entered the US charts in 1893; Cora was already in use when US records began in 1880. On the American record, Cora is the older name.
- How many people are named Catalina and Cora?
- About 31,000 people named Catalina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 76,500 people named Cora are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Catalinas or Coras in the classroom?
- Catalina will almost certainly be the only one in school. Cora will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025; international figures from national statistics agencies. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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