Cornelia
Cornelia was given to 51 girls in 2025, #3,138 among girls’ names; 22,102 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 6,880 Americans named Cornelia and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (31% of everyone recorded); the median is 67 years old and half are between 49 and 79.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cornelia by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cornelia mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cornelia is “a female given name from Latin in quiet use since the 18th century.”
From Latin Cornēlia, name of a famous Roman matron, feminine form of the gens name Cornelius; in continental Europe, also a feminine form of the saint’s name Cornelius.
/kɔɹˈniliə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cornelia?
#3,138 among girls’ names, 2025
Cornelia rose from #4,881 in 2015 to #3,138 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born rose from 15.7 to 31.7 per million.
477 babies in 1921, the peak
Cornelia peaked in 1921, when 477 girls were given it, #300 among girls’ names. The 51 births of 2025 are 11% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 51 | #3,138 | 0.03 |
| 2024 | 39 | #3,838 | 0.02 |
| 2023 | 53 | #3,107 | 0.03 |
| 2022 | 37 | #3,983 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 43 | #3,561 | 0.03 |
| 2020 | 35 | #4,026 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 43 | #3,563 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 32 | #4,373 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 32 | #4,412 | 0.02 |
| 2016 | 36 | #4,106 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 28 | #4,881 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 25 | #5,345 | 0.01 |
| 2013 | 37 | #4,019 | 0.02 |
| 2012 | 18 | #6,930 | 0.01 |
| 2011 | 18 | #6,921 | 0.01 |
| 2010 | 24 | #5,651 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 21 | #6,363 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 31 | #4,786 | 0.02 |
| 2007 | 16 | #7,812 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 23 | #5,759 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 23 | #5,477 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 15 | #7,476 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 25 | #4,969 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 25 | #4,794 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 23 | #5,044 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 26 | #4,551 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 27 | #4,221 | 0.02 |
| 1998 | 23 | #4,662 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 17 | #5,676 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 25 | #4,204 | 0.01 |
| 1995 | 33 | #3,367 | 0.02 |
| 1994 | 24 | #4,266 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 35 | #3,230 | 0.02 |
| 1992 | 41 | #2,874 | 0.02 |
| 1991 | 59 | #2,212 | 0.03 |
| 1990 | 36 | #3,085 | 0.02 |
| 1989 | 60 | #2,076 | 0.03 |
| 1988 | 66 | #1,865 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 50 | #2,161 | 0.03 |
| 1986 | 46 | #2,231 | 0.03 |
| 1985 | 45 | #2,260 | 0.03 |
| 1984 | 51 | #1,996 | 0.03 |
| 1983 | 50 | #2,028 | 0.03 |
| 1982 | 49 | #2,083 | 0.03 |
| 1981 | 57 | #1,891 | 0.03 |
| 1980 | 52 | #2,021 | 0.03 |
| 1979 | 56 | #1,880 | 0.03 |
| 1978 | 60 | #1,731 | 0.04 |
| 1977 | 52 | #1,906 | 0.03 |
| 1976 | 62 | #1,605 | 0.04 |
| 1975 | 56 | #1,690 | 0.04 |
| 1974 | 79 | #1,335 | 0.05 |
| 1973 | 70 | #1,402 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 91 | #1,184 | 0.06 |
| 1971 | 88 | #1,254 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 86 | #1,272 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 108 | #1,055 | 0.06 |
| 1968 | 101 | #1,033 | 0.06 |
| 1967 | 81 | #1,182 | 0.05 |
| 1966 | 105 | #1,002 | 0.06 |
| 1965 | 117 | #945 | 0.07 |
| 1964 | 125 | #943 | 0.07 |
| 1963 | 158 | #829 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 191 | #749 | 0.10 |
| 1961 | 155 | #848 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 169 | #786 | 0.08 |
| 1959 | 173 | #774 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 153 | #812 | 0.08 |
| 1957 | 168 | #770 | 0.08 |
| 1956 | 165 | #756 | 0.08 |
| 1955 | 175 | #713 | 0.09 |
| 1954 | 194 | #662 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 174 | #684 | 0.09 |
| 1952 | 212 | #595 | 0.11 |
| 1951 | 194 | #615 | 0.11 |
| 1950 | 205 | #587 | 0.12 |
| 1949 | 217 | #566 | 0.13 |
| 1948 | 239 | #534 | 0.14 |
| 1947 | 266 | #507 | 0.15 |
| 1946 | 221 | #530 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 241 | #460 | 0.18 |
| 1944 | 255 | #456 | 0.19 |
| 1943 | 288 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1942 | 263 | #456 | 0.19 |
| 1941 | 268 | #420 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 251 | #429 | 0.22 |
| 1939 | 274 | #407 | 0.25 |
| 1938 | 281 | #397 | 0.25 |
| 1937 | 256 | #403 | 0.24 |
| 1936 | 254 | #398 | 0.24 |
| 1935 | 264 | #398 | 0.25 |
| 1934 | 270 | #396 | 0.26 |
| 1933 | 256 | #404 | 0.25 |
| 1932 | 266 | #401 | 0.25 |
| 1931 | 279 | #390 | 0.26 |
| 1930 | 331 | #371 | 0.29 |
| 1929 | 338 | #358 | 0.30 |
| 1928 | 312 | #382 | 0.27 |
| 1927 | 381 | #341 | 0.32 |
| 1926 | 347 | #361 | 0.29 |
| 1925 | 397 | #336 | 0.33 |
| 1924 | 407 | #333 | 0.33 |
| 1923 | 386 | #333 | 0.32 |
| 1922 | 453 | #304 | 0.38 |
| 1921 | 477 | #300 | 0.39 |
| 1920 | 453 | #307 | 0.38 |
| 1919 | 439 | #304 | 0.39 |
| 1918 | 424 | #312 | 0.37 |
| 1917 | 425 | #300 | 0.39 |
| 1916 | 465 | #277 | 0.45 |
| 1915 | 394 | #291 | 0.40 |
| 1914 | 352 | #278 | 0.46 |
| 1913 | 287 | #278 | 0.46 |
| 1912 | 254 | #285 | 0.46 |
| 1911 | 213 | #266 | 0.51 |
| 1910 | 202 | #273 | 0.51 |
| 1909 | 176 | #271 | 0.51 |
| 1908 | 164 | #277 | 0.49 |
| 1907 | 169 | #264 | 0.53 |
| 1906 | 154 | #267 | 0.52 |
| 1905 | 165 | #252 | 0.57 |
| 1904 | 138 | #268 | 0.50 |
| 1903 | 148 | #249 | 0.56 |
| 1902 | 179 | #225 | 0.68 |
| 1901 | 137 | #246 | 0.57 |
| 1900 | 200 | #224 | 0.67 |
| 1899 | 122 | #257 | 0.52 |
| 1898 | 154 | #237 | 0.60 |
| 1897 | 141 | #235 | 0.60 |
| 1896 | 130 | #246 | 0.55 |
| 1895 | 127 | #244 | 0.54 |
| 1894 | 135 | #231 | 0.61 |
| 1893 | 148 | #209 | 0.70 |
| 1892 | 123 | #236 | 0.58 |
| 1891 | 129 | #207 | 0.70 |
| 1890 | 123 | #218 | 0.65 |
| 1889 | 116 | #214 | 0.65 |
| 1888 | 116 | #214 | 0.65 |
| 1887 | 112 | #186 | 0.77 |
| 1886 | 117 | #186 | 0.81 |
| 1885 | 98 | #190 | 0.74 |
| 1884 | 94 | #187 | 0.73 |
| 1883 | 116 | #153 | 1.0 |
| 1882 | 91 | #167 | 0.84 |
| 1881 | 66 | #188 | 0.72 |
| 1880 | 94 | #147 | 1.0 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Cornelia a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Cornelia has been given almost only to girls: 26 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Cornelia: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cornelia, and how old are they?
6,880 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 31% of the 22,102 Americans ever recorded as Cornelia. The median Cornelia alive today is 67 years old; half are between 49 and 79.
The 2020 Census counted 10,664 people named Cornelia (10,606 women and girls, 58 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,051 born in the U.S. The Census count is 32% above that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 1,420 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,710 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,170 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 706 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 351 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 488 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Cornelia born?
The states with the most babies named Cornelia are New York, North Carolina and Georgia, with 26% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 1,380 | #2,164 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 1,246 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Georgia | 1,050 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Virginia | 906 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| South Carolina | 884 | not ranked | 2.4× |
| Alabama | 809 | not ranked | 1.7× |
| Pennsylvania | 710 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| Texas | 677 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Tennessee | 608 | not ranked | 1.3× |
| Illinois | 577 | not ranked | 0.6× |
Where Cornelia is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cornelia is most over-represented in South Carolina: since 1910 it was given 2.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Cornelia with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 22,233 babies since 1880, Cornelia is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 51 of their 51 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Cornelia
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Cornelia and names like it
- Compare Cornelia and CornellaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sCornelia peaked in 1921.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cornelia since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Cornelia: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1921The year the most babies were named Cornelia.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cornelia alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.