Cornelius
Cornelius was given to 82 boys in 2025, #1,908 among boys’ names; 37,049 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 20,200 Americans named Cornelius and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (54% of everyone recorded); the median is 46 years old and half are between 32 and 61.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cornelius by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cornelius mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cornelius is “a male given name from Latin.”
Borrowed from Latin Cornēlius.
/kɔɹˈniliəs/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cornelius?
#1,908 among boys’ names, 2025
Cornelius fell from #1,200 in 2015 to #1,908 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 80.3 to 48.0 per million.
498 babies in 1974, the peak
Cornelius peaked in 1974, when 498 babies were given it (486 boys, #346 among boys’ names). The 82 births of 2025 are 16% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 82 | #1,908 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 68 | #2,156 | 0.04 |
| 2023 | 83 | #1,898 | 0.05 |
| 2022 | 94 | #1,762 | 0.05 |
| 2021 | 86 | #1,816 | 0.05 |
| 2020 | 111 | #1,513 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 107 | #1,565 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 92 | #1,708 | 0.05 |
| 2017 | 106 | #1,545 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 151 | #1,236 | 0.08 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 154 | #1,200 | 0.08 |
| 2014 | 152 | #1,208 | 0.08 |
| 2013 | 151 | #1,187 | 0.08 |
| 2012 | 151 | #1,192 | 0.08 |
| 2011 | 154 | #1,161 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 142 | #1,243 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 166 | #1,112 | 0.08 |
| 2008 | 199 | #988 | 0.10 |
| 2007 | 200 | #981 | 0.10 |
| 2006 | 204 | #926 | 0.10 |
| 2005 | 175 | #986 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 173 | #966 | 0.09 |
| 2003 | 222 | #788 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 192 | #861 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 185 | #867 | 0.10 |
| 2000 | 207 | #788 | 0.11 |
| 1999 | 230 | #714 | 0.12 |
| 1998 | 237 | #702 | 0.12 |
| 1997 | 222 | #710 | 0.12 |
| 1996 | 244 | #673 | 0.13 |
| 1995 | 261 | #641 | 0.14 |
| 1994 | 273 | #628 | 0.14 |
| 1993 | 306 | #587 | 0.16 |
| 1992 | 353 | #542 | 0.18 |
| 1991 | 369 | #519 | 0.18 |
| 1990 | 396 | #486 | 0.19 |
| 1989 | 432 | #452 | 0.22 |
| 1988 | 374 | #474 | 0.20 |
| 1987 | 394 | #447 | 0.21 |
| 1986 | 391 | #434 | 0.21 |
| 1985 | 378 | #439 | 0.20 |
| 1984 | 410 | #405 | 0.23 |
| 1983 | 386 | #414 | 0.22 |
| 1982 | 422 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1981 | 454 | #380 | 0.25 |
| 1980 | 439 | #392 | 0.25 |
| 1979 | 399 | #398 | 0.23 |
| 1978 | 426 | #374 | 0.26 |
| 1977 | 408 | #390 | 0.25 |
| 1976 | 411 | #379 | 0.26 |
| 1975 | 417 | #379 | 0.27 |
| 1974 | 486 | #346 | 0.31 |
| 1973 | 451 | #364 | 0.29 |
| 1972 | 365 | #415 | 0.23 |
| 1971 | 306 | #467 | 0.17 |
| 1970 | 306 | #463 | 0.16 |
| 1969 | 274 | #460 | 0.15 |
| 1968 | 246 | #484 | 0.14 |
| 1967 | 265 | #466 | 0.15 |
| 1966 | 245 | #488 | 0.14 |
| 1965 | 279 | #468 | 0.15 |
| 1964 | 260 | #492 | 0.13 |
| 1963 | 279 | #476 | 0.14 |
| 1962 | 268 | #483 | 0.13 |
| 1961 | 340 | #433 | 0.16 |
| 1960 | 321 | #450 | 0.15 |
| 1959 | 321 | #446 | 0.15 |
| 1958 | 323 | #435 | 0.15 |
| 1957 | 339 | #422 | 0.16 |
| 1956 | 321 | #419 | 0.15 |
| 1955 | 339 | #392 | 0.16 |
| 1954 | 332 | #393 | 0.16 |
| 1953 | 291 | #411 | 0.15 |
| 1952 | 336 | #371 | 0.17 |
| 1951 | 328 | #375 | 0.17 |
| 1950 | 285 | #401 | 0.16 |
| 1949 | 311 | #382 | 0.18 |
| 1948 | 326 | #377 | 0.19 |
| 1947 | 312 | #388 | 0.17 |
| 1946 | 227 | #421 | 0.14 |
| 1945 | 263 | #369 | 0.20 |
| 1944 | 239 | #393 | 0.18 |
| 1943 | 265 | #376 | 0.19 |
| 1942 | 275 | #364 | 0.20 |
| 1941 | 253 | #367 | 0.21 |
| 1940 | 262 | #350 | 0.23 |
| 1939 | 269 | #342 | 0.24 |
| 1938 | 279 | #334 | 0.25 |
| 1937 | 279 | #323 | 0.26 |
| 1936 | 291 | #314 | 0.28 |
| 1935 | 292 | #316 | 0.28 |
| 1934 | 314 | #306 | 0.30 |
| 1933 | 315 | #303 | 0.32 |
| 1932 | 353 | #291 | 0.34 |
| 1931 | 362 | #292 | 0.35 |
| 1930 | 368 | #299 | 0.34 |
| 1929 | 373 | #290 | 0.35 |
| 1928 | 384 | #288 | 0.35 |
| 1927 | 390 | #286 | 0.35 |
| 1926 | 370 | #294 | 0.33 |
| 1925 | 389 | #291 | 0.35 |
| 1924 | 402 | #286 | 0.35 |
| 1923 | 395 | #283 | 0.36 |
| 1922 | 436 | #272 | 0.40 |
| 1921 | 449 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1920 | 433 | #265 | 0.41 |
| 1919 | 415 | #262 | 0.42 |
| 1918 | 453 | #249 | 0.45 |
| 1917 | 387 | #259 | 0.42 |
| 1916 | 402 | #248 | 0.45 |
| 1915 | 372 | #248 | 0.44 |
| 1914 | 283 | #259 | 0.43 |
| 1913 | 277 | #226 | 0.54 |
| 1912 | 243 | #222 | 0.57 |
| 1911 | 138 | #213 | 0.61 |
| 1910 | 96 | #244 | 0.49 |
| 1909 | 98 | #218 | 0.60 |
| 1908 | 86 | #224 | 0.56 |
| 1907 | 106 | #194 | 0.72 |
| 1906 | 94 | #192 | 0.71 |
| 1905 | 86 | #202 | 0.65 |
| 1904 | 106 | #172 | 0.83 |
| 1903 | 92 | #180 | 0.77 |
| 1902 | 96 | #178 | 0.78 |
| 1901 | 76 | #193 | 0.71 |
| 1900 | 116 | #183 | 0.77 |
| 1899 | 70 | #194 | 0.66 |
| 1898 | 78 | #193 | 0.64 |
| 1897 | 91 | #171 | 0.81 |
| 1896 | 85 | #192 | 0.71 |
| 1895 | 86 | #184 | 0.73 |
| 1894 | 100 | #153 | 0.86 |
| 1893 | 81 | #177 | 0.72 |
| 1892 | 103 | #156 | 0.84 |
| 1891 | 75 | #172 | 0.74 |
| 1890 | 84 | #167 | 0.76 |
| 1889 | 77 | #173 | 0.70 |
| 1888 | 105 | #146 | 0.87 |
| 1887 | 79 | #157 | 0.78 |
| 1886 | 95 | #146 | 0.86 |
| 1885 | 96 | #142 | 0.89 |
| 1884 | 88 | #157 | 0.77 |
| 1883 | 92 | #133 | 0.88 |
| 1882 | 107 | #130 | 0.94 |
| 1881 | 80 | #155 | 0.79 |
| 1880 | 92 | #147 | 0.83 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cornelius a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 37,049 Americans recorded as Cornelius, 2% are girls and 98% boys. In 2025 it went to 82 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Cornelius: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cornelius, and how old are they?
20,200 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 54% of the 37,049 Americans ever recorded as Cornelius. The median Cornelius alive today is 46 years old; half are between 32 and 61.
The 2020 Census counted 17,595 people named Cornelius (161 women and girls, 17,434 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 21,430 born in the U.S. The Census count is 18% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 979 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 3,960 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 5,190 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 5,600 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,010 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,430 |
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 Cornelius born?
The states with the most babies named Cornelius are New York, Illinois and Florida, with 23% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 2,839 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Illinois | 2,039 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Florida | 1,909 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Georgia | 1,906 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Alabama | 1,837 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| Mississippi | 1,684 | not ranked | 3.1× |
| Texas | 1,653 | #1,677 | 0.7× |
| Louisiana | 1,393 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 1,368 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| North Carolina | 1,305 | not ranked | 1.3× |
Where Cornelius is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cornelius is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 3.1 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 boys’ 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 Cornelius 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 40,419 babies since 1880, Cornelius is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 82 of their 82 babies (100%), again the most given.
| Name | Since 1880 | Births 2025 | Peak year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cornelius | 37,049 | 82 | 1974 |
| Cornelious | 2,588 | under 5 | 1919 |
| Corneilus | 340 | under 5 | 1993 |
| Corneluis | 247 | under 5 | 1926 |
| Cornellius | 144 | under 5 | 1977 |
| Kornelius | 51 | under 5 | 2012 |
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 Cornelius
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 Cornelius and names like it
- Compare Cornelius and CorneliousBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1970sCornelius peaked in 1974.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cornelius since 1910.
- Latin namesWiktionary’s origin for Cornelius: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1974The year the most babies were named Cornelius.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Cornelius alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with CMost given first.