Koraline
Feminine
Koraline is a K-spelling of Coraline, and Coraline has an unusually precise origin for a modern name: it was chosen for a novel published in 2002 and spread from there.
How old is the name Koraline?
Koraline first appears in US birth records in 2010 — 15 years ago. The typical Koraline is a kid of about 6 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Koraline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Koraline most popular?
Koraline peaked in 2018, reaching #3293 nationally. Today it ranks #3296, 3 places below that high. See the whole 2018 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Koraline
Ours rather than the record's. Very few names have a datable moment of arrival, and this one nearly does: a children's novel published in 2002 and filmed in 2009 put Coraline in front of a very large audience, and the American records show it appearing shortly afterwards. What is quietly good about the name is the near-miss with Caroline — the author has said the name began as a typing slip — which means it belongs to a small class of names that exist because somebody's fingers went wrong and the result looked better than the intention.
Meaningnot established
Not established
No settled meaning. Coraline existed rarely in French before the novel, apparently as an elaboration of Coralie, which is built on the word for coral. Whether the modern name carries that or was chosen purely for its sound is not recorded, and the K spelling is a later American addition.
Pronouncing Koraline
KOR-uh-lyne
Three syllables, first stressed, the last rhyming with line. Some families say KOR-uh-leen.
Nicknames for Koraline
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2010
- Most girls named
- 201848 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3293reached in 2018
- Change vs 2024
- +17.5%47 in 2025, from 40
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Koraline in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Coralie in French — related form
- Coraline in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California, Ohio.
Koralines among us
people named Koraline are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 34,197 born in 2025 was named Koraline
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Spellings of Koraline
- #3296
- Koraline on the 2025 chart
- #539
- counting every spelling
The SSA counts spellings, not names. Koraline went to 47 girls in 2025, but Coraline and Coralyne are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 466, which makes it the 539th most-given girls’ name of the year — 2,757 places above the chart.
- Coraline414
- Koraline47
- Coralyne5
About 1 girl in 3,449 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 34,197 for Koraline itself.
Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Tinia test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Koraline's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Tinia climbed just as high around 1962, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Tinia's path sketches the road Koraline is walking now.
Koraline sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Koraline is headed
Koraline should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Koraline beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Koraline in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Kora and Lina are both complete names that stand entirely on their own.
- Read correctly on sight by most English speakers.
- It has a documented moment of arrival, which almost no name can claim.
- Coraline is the standard spelling and will be written for her constantly.
- The final syllable is said two ways and the spelling does not settle it.
- The story it comes from is a frightening one, and children will know it.
Nobody names a baby alone.
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What they receive
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Koraline
Feminine · #3296 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Koralines are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Koraline are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How do you spell Koraline?
- Koraline is one of 3 recorded spellings. Coraline is the more common one — 414 births in 2025 against 47 for Koraline.
- How popular is the name Koraline in 2025?
- Koraline ranks #3296 among US girl names in 2025, with 47 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Koraline?
- About 1 in every 34,197 US girls born in 2025 was named Koraline — 47 in all.
- Will my child share the name Koraline with classmates?
- Koraline will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Koraline
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Neva#3296 · Aleyda#3296 · Kaylor#3296 · Nalia#3296 · Anyeli#3296 · Izabel#3296 · Esmee#3296 · Rhoda#3296
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Koraline? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Koraline and another name?
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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