Same vibe as Cora?

I adore [name]Cora[/name]. It was my hidden gem for a long time, but now Downton [name]Abbey[/name] has come out and it seems to be everywhere. I don’t think I’d want people to think I was inspired by the show (although there’s nothing wrong with the show). So I’m curious as to what other names you’d put in a similar category that I might fall for.

I like that it’s sort of timeless, rare, but not at all stuffy or dusty. I know everyone looks for that undiscovered fresh name but…well, I still have to give it a shot!

Ta

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[name]Ida[/name]
[name]Maude[/name]
[name]Martha[/name]
[name]Althea[/name]
[name]Louise[/name]
[name]Greta[/name]
[name]Inez[/name]
[name]Leora[/name]
[name]Sybil[/name]
[name]Millicent[/name]
[name]Leda[/name]
[name]Cecily[/name]
[name]Ada[/name]
[name]Rita[/name]

[name]How[/name] about [name]Corliss[/name] “[name]Cora[/name]”? I think [name]Corliss[/name] is a nice modern twist on [name]Cora[/name], but still is a way to get to the original [name]Cora[/name] if needed.

I agree with pp’s suggestion of [name]Ada[/name]. [name]Adah[/name] and [name]Vera[/name] and [name]Flora[/name] come to mind too.

[name]Clara[/name], [name]Coralie[/name], [name]Rosa[/name], [name]Rosalie[/name] : )

[name]Olive[/name], [name]Rose[/name], [name]Ruby[/name], [name]Clio[/name]

[name]Nora[/name]
[name]Violet[/name]
[name]Eloise[/name]
[name]Nola[/name]
[name]Eden[/name]/[name]Edie[/name]
[name]Celia[/name]
[name]Elise[/name]
[name]Anna[/name]

[name]Ada[/name] and [name]Louisa[/name] are the two that come to mind as having the same feel as [name]Cora[/name] but a little less common.

[name]Love[/name] a pp’s suggesting of [name]Vera[/name]. Definitely has the same feel as [name]Cora[/name] for me. Short and sweet with a little spunk.

[name]Coral[/name]
[name]Laurel[/name]
[name]Flora[/name]
[name]Dora[/name]
[name]Laura[/name]
[name]Lana[/name]
[name]Vera[/name]
[name]Polina[/name]
[name]Faye[/name]
[name]May[/name]
[name]Ada[/name]
[name]Ida[/name]
[name]Willa[/name]
[name]Phillipa[/name]
[name]Philomena[/name]
[name]Wilhelmina[/name]
[name]Ursa[/name]
[name]Raya[/name]
[name]Freya[/name]
[name]Thea[/name]
[name]Althea[/name]
[name]Theodora[/name]
[name]Petra[/name]
[name]Clio[/name]
[name]Cleo[/name]
[name]Corinne[/name]
[name]Caroline[/name]
[name]Hannah[/name]
[name]Fern[/name]
[name]Raina[/name]
[name]Cara[/name]
[name]Clara[/name]
[name]Lara[/name]
[name]Carissa[/name]
[name]Thora[/name]
[name]Briar[/name]
[name]Aurora[/name]

Not sure if these are less/more popular than [name]Cora[/name]?

So many of the names I would suggest have already been suggested. [name]Vera[/name] is lovely, but I also adore [name]Maud[/name], [name]Ida[/name], [name]Greta[/name], [name]Leda[/name], [name]Clara[/name] and [name]Rosa[/name].

I think [name]Elsa[/name] should be mentioned. [name]Greer[/name] as well.
[name]Annora[/name], [name]Enid[/name], [name]Cara[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]India[/name], [name]Claudia[/name], [name]Constance[/name], [name]Daphne[/name], [name]Adele[/name], [name]Dina[/name]/[name]Dinah[/name], [name]Edith[/name], [name]Evelyn[/name], [name]Irene[/name], [name]Alma[/name], [name]Elvira[/name], [name]Elspeth[/name], [name]Mara[/name], [name]Fern[/name], [name]Frances[/name], [name]Gail[/name]/[name]Gale[/name], [name]Gloria[/name], [name]Esther[/name], [name]Hester[/name], [name]Jacoba[/name], [name]Judith[/name], [name]June[/name]/[name]Junia[/name], [name]Lark[/name], [name]Liesel[/name], [name]Tess/name, [name]Lina[/name], [name]Lorna[/name], [name]Luna[/name], [name]Lyra[/name], [name]Mabel[/name], [name]Maeve[/name], [name]Margot[/name], [name]Meryl[/name]/[name]Merle[/name], [name]Minerva[/name], [name]Blythe[/name]/[name]Blithe[/name], Mirth, [name]Myrtle[/name], [name]Hazel[/name], [name]Nona[/name], [name]Odessa[/name], [name]Opal[/name], [name]Petra[/name], [name]Pearl[/name]!/[name]Perla[/name], [name]Plum[/name], [name]Reina[/name], [name]Sabine[/name], [name]Sylvie[/name], [name]Sonia[/name], [name]Thekla[/name], [name]Thisbe[/name], [name]Tora[/name]/[name]Thora[/name], [name]Una[/name], [name]Vesper[/name], [name]Wren[/name], [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Audra[/name], [name]Anouk[/name], [name]Briar[/name], [name]Beata[/name], [name]Beryl[/name], [name]Brisa[/name], [name]Caia[/name].

[name]Sybil[/name]? All Downton joking aside, [name]Sybil[/name] and [name]Sibyl[/name] are still incredibly rare in the US and the UK; but [name]Sibyl[/name] has that same stylistic sweet spot that you describe for [name]Cora[/name], plus it’s also got ancient Greek roots (and again like [name]Cora[/name], it’s more of a title than a name for the Ancients, but [name]Sybil[/name]/[name]Sibyl[/name] has a much, much longer history as a given name). There were just 13 Sybils born in the US last year and fewer than 5 Sibyls; in the UK there were 5 Sybils, 4 Sibyllas, and fewer than 3 Sibyls.

Another along the suprisingly rare, ancient Greek but not fusty, lines is [name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name]. I am genuinely shocked by how rare [name]Clio[/name]/[name]Cleo[/name] is: just 88 Cleos born in the UK last year (#486) and 5 Clios; in the US it’s 87 Cleos and 19 Clios. I prefer the [name]Clio[/name] spelling, as it’s the one that’s associated with the muse of history in English. Sure, that makes it more popular than [name]Sybil[/name], but you’d still need to triple the number of Cleos born in the US to get it on to the bottom of the top 1000. [name]Phoebe[/name] and [name]Athena[/name] outnumber [name]Cleo[/name] by more than 10 to 1. [name]Zoe/name and [name]Chloe[/name], it’s a factor of closer to 100 to 1.

Apart from [name]Sybil[/name] and [name]Clio[/name], there’s also [name]Ione[/name], [name]Althea[/name], [name]Leda[/name], Leto/[name]Leta[/name], or [name]Delia[/name], sticking to Greek; and [name]Mavis[/name], [name]Thora[/name], [name]Aphra[/name], [name]Cecily[/name]/[name]Cecile[/name], or [name]Maud[/name], from elsewhere.

I have a weird situation; growing up, my sister’s friend was named [name]Cora[/name]. I never knew it was historic until I saw it on Downton [name]Abbey[/name]. So, I kind of always thought it was a modern name. To me, it sounds very similar to [name]Kiera[/name], [name]Michaela[/name], etc. I just think that sound-wise, it sounds more like those names.

I don’t think [name]Cora[/name] sounds much at all like [name]Maude[/name] or [name]Martha[/name] or anything like that. [name]Just[/name] because it came from the same time period doesn’t mean it sounds similar.

I’d say as a middle ground, [name]Cora[/name] is similar to names like [name]Lilah[/name], [name]Clara[/name], [name]Nina[/name], [name]Caroline[/name], [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Caitlin[/name], [name]Kenna[/name], [name]Paige[/name], etc.

magpie1127 - I don’t think it’s that weird! I actually feel like [name]Cora[/name] has a different vibe than a lot of other names usually placed in the same era. I find it more fresh and more modern - although I admit your vision is even more “modern” than me. I think The names you mentioned are just more popular. I don’t know. I get a modern, unusual, but timeless feel from it wish is so hard to define!

My thoughts on suggestions:

[name]Vera[/name] - I actually love this name and it’s on my long list, but I can’t decide if it will bother me that the pronunciation is so split. I happen to have a foreign name and I correct people all the time but that doesn’t bother me. I just sort of know my pronunciation is right (people just don’t know how to say it because it doesn’t look like it sounds in the English language). But for me [name]Vera[/name] doesn’t have a right or wrong pronunciation just a way that I prefer. Did that make sense at all?

[name]Althea[/name] - I think this is about as close as any suggestion has come to be a revelation for me in this thread. I’ve heard of it before but not really thought about it. It’s vintage but feels fresh to me at the same time - perhaps because I don’t really considered it to be defined by any era. A know name, but an under the radar name…and I think it’s pretty! It’s less short and snappy but I’m still really liking it.

[name]Ada[/name] - I quite like this name but it’s my SOs family name and he doesn’t want to have children named after her so that’s off the table.

[name]Corliss[/name] - It’s interesting, but I’m not really looking for other ways to get [name]Cora[/name]. If I have a daughter called [name]Cora[/name] I’ll just have that as her first name.

Other names mentioned that I like and are actually on my long list but I hadn’t thought to tie them to [name]Cora[/name] - [name]Louise[/name], [name]Greta[/name], [name]Clara[/name], [name]Nora[/name], [name]Nola[/name], [name]Eloise[/name], [name]Eden[/name], [name]Celia[/name], [name]Anna[/name], [name]Thora[/name], [name]Helena[/name], [name]Adele[/name] (but can’t use), [name]Evelyn[/name], [name]Liesl[/name], [name]Margot[/name], [name]Wren[/name], [name]Agnes[/name], [name]Anouk[/name], [name]Nina[/name]. I have various reactions to these names but it’s nice to see others associating them with [name]Cora[/name].

[name]Sabine[/name] - This is actually in my top 3. It’s refreshing to see someone recommend it! Most of the time it doesn’t get great reviews, but it’s high on the actual usage list.

[name]Blythe[/name] - I’m all over the board with this one. I think I really do love it, but my opinions on wanting to name a daughter this are mercurial. I think there’s a variety of implications and associations with the name - some good, some bad - and I don’t know if I want to tie them to a child.

Thanks for all the thoughts so far!