Coraline (given name)

Coraline
A bento box portrayal of the main character of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline.
Pronunciation(/ˈkɒrəliːn/) or (/ˈkɒrəlaɪn/)
GenderFeminine
Language(s)English
Origin
MeaningCoral
Other names
Related namesCaroline, Cora, Coral, Coralie

Coraline is a feminine given name, usually considered a French diminutive of the name Coral, which is derived from the name for the precious coral used to make jewelry. It was first used by French composer Adolphe Adam for a character in his 1849 comic opera Le toréador. As a diminutive of Coral, the name is traditionally pronounced with an een ending.[1] It might also be a diminutive of the name Cora.[2] Coraline is also a name for a red, pink, or orange shade of the color coral.[3] Author Neil Gaiman believed that he had invented the name as a rhyming variant of the name Caroline for the title character in his dark fantasy horror children's novella Coraline. Gaiman pronounced the name of the character with a long i to rhyme with the word wine. Gaiman also liked the name's resemblance to the word coral, which he explained is "both beautiful and hard and hidden." He also later found the name had been used for a tragic heroine in a Victorian-era song as well as for a type of material used to make corsets.[4][5]

  1. ^ Campbell, Mike, "The Name Coraline", Behind the Name, October 19, 2016 [1]
  2. ^ Sandel, Abby (1 August 2018). "Coraline: Baby Name of the Day". appellationmountain.net. Appellation Mountain (blog). Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  3. ^ "The color Coraline". myperfectcolor.com. My Perfect Color. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  4. ^ Gaiman, Neil (12 June 2003). "Death, Coraline, And, Oh, What's The Word For It … Begins With An M…?". journal.neilgaiman.com. Neil Gaiman.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
  5. ^ Brooks, Nicholas (24 September 2021). "Why Coraline Has Such an Odd Name". cbr.com. Retrieved 6 March 2023.