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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
Coraline is a French name built as an elaboration of Coralie/Coral, so at its root it simply means "little coral." You may see some baby-name sites claim it means things like 'free man,' 'heart,' 'maiden,' or 'rose garden' — those are wrong; they're meanings borrowed from entirely different names like Karl or Cora. Coraline stands on its own as a coral-inspired name.
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.
Popularity of Coraline
Coraline reached its high point in 2015 at #579 with 527 babies given the name, and has since eased to #720 in 2024 with 390 babies, based on SSA data spanning 1970-2024.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration birth-name data via names_full.json, 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 without a catalog record, 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)
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.)
📊 How popular is Coraline? See the full popularity history, trend data, and ranking since 1880 with our free Baby Name Popularity Checker.
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