She has a similar feel to the romantic Cordelia, in fact, it is even argued that Cordelia came from Cordula, but I will go further into that in a different entry in the future. For now, the focus is on the lovely Cordula. According to legend, St. Cordula of Cologne was one of the 11,000 companions of St. Ursula, when her friends were being massacred, Cordula cowardly hid in fear and survived, feeling guilty that she survived while her friends were dead, she presented herself to the Huns the next day and was promptly executed. Supposedly Albert the Great found her remains hundreds of years later. Her body was in perfect condition and on her head was written “Cordula, Queen and Virgin.” Her feast day is October 22.

The name is believed to be derived from the Late Latin cor, cordis meaning “heart” with the diminutive feminine suffix -ula attached to the end, hence “little heart.” It has been a common enough name in Germany, due to the popularity of the Saint’s cult.

Cordula was an epic German poem written by Max Waldau in 1854. It is also the name of an orchid from the slipper orchid genus.

Other forms of the name include Kordula which is another form used in Germany but is also used in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The Slavic diminutive forms are Kordulka, Dula, Dulka and Dalinka.