Girls' name · since 1880
Cornelia
Cornelia has 22,076 recorded births since 1880 in federal Social Security data, most heavily in 1921 -- full year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state rankings follow.
- #996 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,130 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 22,076
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
22,076 babies have been named Cornelia since 1880, making it today's #3130 girls' name.
Social Security Administration records show Cornelia recorded 22,076 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #3130 nationally today, ahead of 82% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #996 of 72,339 all-time among girls
- #3,130 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
- 22,076 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Cornelia ranks #996 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #3,130 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 22,076 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #996 of 72,339
- all-time among girls
- #3,130 of 17,297
- 2025 SSA year
- 22,076
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Cornelia's 22,076 recorded births place it above 98.62% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.
37 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by New York.
How Cornelia compares
22,076 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,297 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Cornelia's all-time total is 59x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Cornelia | Median girls name (Kyann) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 22,076 | 376 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 477 | 21 | 19,840 |
Cornelia's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Cornelia splits its recorded history at 1953: 22% of all births land in the more recent half, 78% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 2004 (15 births) -- compare that against the 1921 peak of 477 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Cornelia popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1921)
- 477
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Cornelia popularity over time - boys
26 total births recorded since 1925 (Cornelia as boys' name)
Cornelia by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (3,951 births, 18% of the file).
1920s was Cornelia's strongest decade.
3,951 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Cornelia births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 1,020
1880s
1,020 births
- 1890s 1,332
1890s
1,332 births
- 1900s
1900s
1,630 births
- 1910s
1910s
3,455 births
- 1920s
1920s
3,951 births
- 1930s
1930s
2,731 births
- 1940s
1940s
2,509 births
- 1950s
1950s
1,813 births
- 1960s 1,310
1960s
1,310 births
- 1970s 700
1970s
700 births
- 1980s 526
1980s
526 births
- 1990s 320
1990s
320 births
- 2000s 228
2000s
228 births
- 2010s 293
2010s
293 births
- 2020s 258
2020s
258 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 3,951 births (18% of all-time use).
How Cornelia compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Cornelia's total volume
Cornelia by state
Where Cornelia concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 1,380 | 6.3% |
| #2 | North Carolina | | 1,246 | 5.6% |
| #3 | Georgia | | 1,050 | 4.8% |
| #4 | Virginia | | 906 | 4.1% |
| #5 | South Carolina | | 884 | 4.0% |
| #6 | Alabama | | 809 | 3.7% |
| #7 | Pennsylvania | | 710 | 3.2% |
| #8 | Texas | | 677 | 3.1% |
1,380 of 22,076 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 37 reporting states.
Cornelia appears in 37 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Cornelia? ▼
Where does Cornelia sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Cornelia most popular? ▼
Where is Cornelia most popular? ▼
How long has the name Cornelia been used? ▼
What names are similar to Cornelia? ▼
What to do with Cornelia's data
- Cornelia's decade-level peak was the 1920s (3,951 total births); usage has since declined to 258 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Cornelias (1,380 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Cornelia
Nearby Names Like Cornelia
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Cornelia
Compare Cornelia side by side: Cornelia vs Cora Cornelia vs Corinne Cornelia vs Corrine
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Cornelia
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Cornelia: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1921)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.
Data Sources
Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Cornelia draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.