Date
Meaning & History
From a Roman cognomen that was probably derived from Latin cordus, which is a variant form of Latin chordus meaning "late-born" as well as "late in the season". Another possibility is that the name was derived from Latin corda, which is a variant form of chorda, the latinized form of Greek khorda or khorde meaning "cord, string".Apparently, Roman parents tended to give this name to their son when he was born late (either past the mother's estimated due date, or late in the season). If this is true, then both of the aforementioned potential etymologies certainly do make sense. The first one literally refers to lateness, whilst the second one can be interpreted to refer to lateness in a more figurative way. You see, in this particular context, "cord" can refer to the umbilical cord, in which case it must be in the (figurative) sense of the child having been too attached to its mother for it to want to leave the womb (hence the child's late birth).In light of this apparent custom among (some) Roman parents, it is unlikely that this name is derived from Latin cordis, which is the genitive of Latin cor meaning "heart".Bearers of this name were the Roman historian Aulus Cremutius Cordus (1st century AD) and the Roman praetorian prefect Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro (1st century AD).