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At a Glance: Name: Coraline – Meaning: little coral / an elaboration of Coral – Origin: French (elaboration of Coralie/Coral, literary coinage) – Gender: primarily used for girls – Pronunciation: KOR-uh-lyne
Coraline comes from French, an elaboration of Coralie and Coral, and simply means little coral. You might spot other meanings attached to it elsewhere, like 'free man,' 'heart,' 'maiden,' or 'rose garden,' but those belong to completely different names — Coraline's roots stay close to the word coral itself.
Meaning & Origin of Coraline
Meaning: Little coral / an elaboration of Coral.
Origin: French (elaboration of Coralie/Coral, literary coinage).
A common claim: Some baby-name sites list unrelated meanings like 'free man,' 'heart,' 'maiden,' or 'rose garden' Actually: None of those are correct — those meanings belong to entirely different names (e.g., Karl, Cora, Rosalind); Coraline is an elaboration of Coral/Coralie referring to coral.
Source: Wiktionary, Wikipedia.
How to Pronounce Coraline
Phonetic: KOR-uh-lyne IPA: /ˈkɔːrəlaɪn/
Popularity of Coraline
Coraline had its strongest year in 2015, when 527 girls were given the name and it ranked #579 nationally. By 2024 it had cooled to #720, with 390 babies named Coraline that year.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data, 1970–2024.
Make Coraline Name Art
Free printable nursery art for Coraline, pre-loaded below — pick a layout, palette, and font, then download a print-ready PNG.
Names With a Similar Story
Derived from shared style, era, and origin data (or, for names we have no style data for, a similar Social Security popularity trajectory) — not a hand-picked list.
FAQ
What does the name Coraline mean?
Little coral / an elaboration of Coral. (Source: Wiktionary, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Coraline)
How do you pronounce Coraline?
Coraline is pronounced KOR-uh-lyne (IPA: /ˈkɔːrəlaɪn/).
Is Coraline a popular name right now?
Coraline peaked at #579 in 2015 and is ranked #720 as of 2024. (U.S. Social Security Administration data, 1970–2024.)
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