Coral
Portrait of a Woman with Coral Beads by Hans Canon.
GenderFemale
Origin
Word/nameGreek
MeaningCoral
Other names
Related namesCoralie, Coraline
Céline and Rosalvina Pelletier by James Bowman. The two young sisters are wearing coral necklaces, which was a common practice to ward off illness in young children.
Horatia Nelson Kneeling Beside Her Father’s Tomb by William Owen. The daughter of Horatio Nelson is wearing a coral cross necklace.
Portrait of a Woman Holding a Book by Julie Philipault, 1815. The young woman in the portrait is wearing a coral necklace, popular jewelry for women and children in the Regency Era.
The Coral Necklace by Wilhelm Gallhof, 1917. Gallhof was known for his highly erotic paintings.
Nude with Coral Necklace by August Macke, 1910. Precious coral has traditionally had associations with sensuality and femininity.

Coral is a feminine given name derived from the precious coral used to make jewelry. The name is ultimately derived from the Greek word korallion[1] and the Latin coralium.

The name came into fashion in the Anglosphere in the late 1800s along with other gemstone names for girls.[2] Coral necklaces were traditionally worn by young children to protect them from illness.[3]

Usage

The name was at the height of popularity in most English-speaking countries in the late 1800s and the first half of the 20th century. Its greatest popularity in Spain was between 1980 and 2010.[4] The name has since declined in popularity but remains in regular use. In the United States, 128 newborn girls were named Coral in 2021. Name variants Coralie and Coraline are also in regular use for girls.[5]

Notable people

  • Coral Aguirre, pen name of Argentinean-born playwright, musician, and professor of literature Angélica Claro Canteros (born 1938)
  • Coral Amiga, English actress
  • Coral Atkins (1936-2016), English actress who opened and ran a home for disadvantaged children
  • Coral Barbas, Spanish academic who is a professor at the Universidad CEU San Pablo in Madrid, Spain and is known for her research on metabolomics and integration of chemical data
  • Coral Bell (1923-2012), Australian academic who wrote about international relations and power politics
  • Coral Bentley (born 1984), retired Australian synchronized swimmer who competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics
  • Coral Bistuer (born 1966), Spanish taekwondo practitioner
  • Coral Bracho (born 1951), Mexican poet, translator, and doctor of Literature
  • Coral Browne (1913-1991), Australian-American stage and screen actress
  • Coral Buttsworth (1900-1985), Australian tennis player
  • Coral Casado Ortiz (born 1996), Spanish professional racing cyclist
  • Coral Drouyn (born 1945), English-Australian actress, singer, and screenwriter/story editor
  • Coral Egan, Canadian jazz and pop singer
  • Coral-Jade Haines (born 1996), English women’s footballer
  • Coral Herrera (born 1977), Spanish feminist writer and communicator based in Costa Rica, known for her critique of the concept of romantic love and her contributions to queer studies
  • Coral Hull (born 1965), Australian author, poet, artist, and photographer
  • Coral Lansbury (1929-1991), Australian-born feminist writer and academic
  • Coral Palmer (born 1942), former New Zealand netball player and coach
  • Coral Petkovich, Australian writer and translator
  • Coral Bernadine Pollard (born circa 1940), Barbadian artist
  • Coral Short (born 1973), queer Canadian multimedia artist and coordinator
  • Coral Smith (born 1979), American former reality television personality
  • Coral Taylor (born 1961), Australian female rally co-driver
  • Coral Wong Pietsch (born 1947), American lawyer who serves as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for Veteran Claims

Fictional characters

References

See also

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