2000
#15,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,681
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.62
Rare Last name
Cora
Derived from the Greek word for "maiden," originally used as a nickname for an unmarried woman or girl.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,129 Americans carry the last name Cora. That puts it at #15,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 160,993 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cora surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 160,993
Census rank
#15,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,857 bearers of the surname Cora in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cora, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Black (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cora
The surname Cora originated in Spain, emerging in the late 15th century. It is derived from the Latin word "caurus," meaning "northwest wind." This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone living in a location exposed to strong northwesterly winds.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Cora surname can be found in a Spanish municipal census from 1492, listing a family by that name residing in the town of Seville. In the 16th century, the name appeared in various legal documents and property records across Andalusia and Extremadura regions of Spain.
During the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries, several individuals bearing the Cora surname accompanied expeditions to the New World. Notable among them was Pedro de Cora, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.
In England, the Cora surname emerged later, likely as a variant spelling of the more common name "Corah" or "Corrah." The earliest recorded instance is found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Warwickshire, which mention the baptism of William Cora in 1612.
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cora name appears in various English records, including those of the East India Company. One notable figure was Robert Cora (1672-1744), an English merchant and textile trader who established a successful business exporting woolen goods to the American colonies.
In the 19th century, the surname gained prominence in the United States, particularly in the Southern states. A well-known figure was John Cora (1828-1905), a successful plantation owner and businessman from Mississippi who served as a Confederate officer during the American Civil War.
Other notable individuals with the Cora surname include:
1. Miguel Cora (1856-1932), a Spanish artist and painter known for his landscapes and portraits of rural life in Andalusia.
2. Mabel Cora (1889-1971), an American actress and vaudeville performer who appeared in several Broadway productions in the early 20th century.
3. Rafael Cora (1892-1963), a Cuban baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1975.
4. Cora Coralina (1889-1985), a Brazilian poet and writer whose real name was Anna Lins dos Guimarães Peixoto Bretas, but adopted the pen name Cora Coralina.
5. José Cora (born 1975), a former Major League Baseball player and manager, notably serving as the manager of the Boston Red Sox in 2012.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cora
Among Census respondents with the surname Cora, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Black (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cora bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cora surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino68.8% · 1,278
- White22.8% · 423
- Black or African American5.9% · 110
- Two or more races1.2% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cora
Cora appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,995
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,970
+289 bearers (+17.2%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Up 894 places
2020
#15,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,857
-113 bearers (-5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 226 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,889 | 1,681 | 0.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,995 | 1,970 | 0.67 | +289 bearers (+17.2%) | Up 894 places |
| 2020 | #15,221 | 1,857 | 0.62 | -113 bearers (-5.7%) | Down 226 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cora surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,995 | #15,221 | -1.5% |
| Count | 1,970 | 1,857 | -5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.67 | 0.62 | -7.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cora bearers went from 1,970 to 1,857 (-5.7% change). The surname moved down 226 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,995 to #15,221.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cora
FAQ
Cora surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cora?
Name Census estimates that about 2,129 living Americans carry the surname Cora. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 160,993 residents.
How common is Cora?
Cora ranks #15,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,857 people with the surname Cora. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,129), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cora.
Has Cora become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cora went from 1,970 recorded bearers to 1,857. That is a decrease of 113 (-5.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,995 to #15,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Cora?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cora, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Black (5.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (1,278 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cora appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (68.8%), White (22.8%), Black (5.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cora (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cora mean?
Derived from the Greek word for "maiden," originally used as a nickname for an unmarried woman or girl. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cora (0.62 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Cora?
Want to know how many people have the last name Cora? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.