Coral
A feminine name derived from the reddish marine organism.
Name Census estimates that about 8,575 living Americans carry the first name Coral. It is a predominantly female name (98.3% of registrations). The average person named Coral today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Coral births was 2004 (224 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Coral. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Coral with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Coral is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 191 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
8.6K
~ 1 in 39,971 Americans
Peak year
2004
224 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2001 SSA rank
#1,893
Tracked since 1881
Census
Coral in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 9,060 people with the first name Coral, which placed it at #2,625 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#2,625
National first-name rank
People counted
9.1K
9,060 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
3.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
59.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coral
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Coral is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Coral described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Coral at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White59.7% · 5,413
- Hispanic or Latino28.1% · 2,542
- Two or more races4.9% · 440
- Black or African American4.6% · 414
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 179
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 72
Gender
Gender distribution for Coral
Coral leans heavily female at 98.3% of total registrations, but 191 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Coral as a male name
- Ranked #10,888 in 2001
- 5 male births in 2001
- Peak: 1916 (12 births)
Coral as a female name
- Ranked #1,893 in 2024
- 105 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2004 (224 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Coral leans strongly female. 8,907 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 155 male bearers (1.7%).
Popularity
Coral: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Coral from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 1,837 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Coral remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Coral by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Coral during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Corals live
The SSA's state-level files cover 29 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Coral, while Tennessee, Nevada, Maryland recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 181 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Coral
The name Coral has its origins in the Latin word "corallium," which refers to the hard, calcified material found in the sea and used for jewelry and ornaments. This material was highly prized in ancient times and was often associated with beauty, luxury, and protection against harm.
The earliest recorded use of the name Coral can be traced back to the late 16th century, when it first appeared in English literature and records. At this time, the name was likely chosen for its connection to the precious coral material and its symbolic meanings.
One of the first notable individuals to bear the name Coral was Coral Browne, an Australian actress born in 1913. She had a successful career on stage and screen, appearing in films such as "The Killing of Sister George" and "The Road Warrior."
Another historical figure with the name Coral was Coral Atkins, an American actress and model born in 1935. She appeared in various television shows and films throughout the 1950s and 1960s, including "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "The Rebel Set."
In the world of literature, Coral Lansbury was a British author and playwright born in 1935. She wrote several novels and plays, including "The Flesh and the Devil" and "The Smashing Bird."
Moving to the field of politics, Coral Gables was the name of a prominent American politician and diplomat from Florida, born in 1892. She served as the United States Ambassador to Panama and played a significant role in shaping diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Lastly, Coral Watts was a British artist and sculptor born in 1920. She was known for her innovative use of materials and her abstract sculptures, which were exhibited in galleries across Europe and the United States.
While the name Coral may have been less common in ancient times, it has gained popularity in recent centuries, particularly for its association with the beautiful and valuable coral material found in the ocean. The name evokes a sense of natural beauty, elegance, and strength, making it a unique and meaningful choice for parents seeking a distinctive name for their child.
People
Coral + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Coral as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Coral: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Coral?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 8,575 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Coral going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 39,971 US residents.
Is Coral a common name?
We classify Coral as "Rare". It ranks above 97.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,061 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Coral most popular?
The single biggest year for Coral was 2004, when 224 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Coral is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Coral in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 9,060 people with the name Coral, or 3.00 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #2,625 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Coral in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Coral?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Coral leans strongly female. 8,907 people counted with this name were female (98.3%), compared with 155 male bearers (1.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Coral?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Coral is White at 59.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.1%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Coral most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Coral in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (5,413 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Coral in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Coral a female name?
Yes, 98.3% of people registered as Coral in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Coral still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Coral in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Coral can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Coral?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Coral at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.