Coraline
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Meaning
created by composer Adolphe Adam for his opera Le Toréador (1849), probably from Coralie
The story
Coraline was created by the French composer Adolphe Adam for one of the main characters in his opera Le Toréador of 1849, and, Behind the Name adds with a hedge, he probably based it on Coralie, itself either a French form of Koralia or a derivative of the Latin coralium, "coral". The American record kept it almost invisible for over a century, including a flicker of about 6 girls back in the 1970s, then moved all at once: about 140 in the 2000s, about 4,170 in the 2010s, and about 2,470 so far this decade. An opera stage in 1849, a coral chain with a hedge at each link, and a name far older than the modern stories readers usually meet it in.
How popular is Coraline around the world?
In the United States, 2,471 babies were named Coraline between 2020 and 2025.
Coraline is on the official records of the United States, Mexico City, Chile, Canada, France, England and Wales, Argentina, Brazil and Spain.
United States
1 in 8,800
In the United States, 2,471 babies were named Coraline between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Coraline peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Mexico City City
1 in 20,000
In Mexico City, there were 6 registrations of Coraline in 2022.
share of that year’s registrations in the city
Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023
Chile
1 in 20,000
In Chile, 9 girls were registered as Coraline in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.
share of that year’s name registrations
First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021
Canada
1 in 24,000
In Canada, 15 girls named Coraline were born in 2024, ranked 1,542nd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
France
1 in 43,000
In France, about 15 girls named Coraline were born in 2025, ranked 1,861st among girls that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 84,000
In England and Wales, 7 girls named Coraline were born in 2025, ranked 3,333rd among girls that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Argentina
1 in 130,000
In Argentina, 5 newborns were given the name Coraline in 2024.
share of that year’s name registrations
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Brazil
1 in 1M
At the 2022 census, 238 people in Brazil were named Coraline, ranked 22,462nd, with a median age of 4.
Among people named Coraline living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 105 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
Spain
1 in 1.6M
In Spain, 28 residents are named Coraline, ranked 23,223rd among women, with a mean age of 12.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Austria
last on record 2020
Coraline is not on the 2025 record for Austria, which publishes every first name down to a single birth, so the name was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
South Australia
last on record 2011
Coraline is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on the record in Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Coraline
Most people given the name Coraline in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Coraline deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Coraline truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Coraline fits with your family’s names and surname.
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