Cornell
Cornell was given to 14 boys in 2025, #6,190 among boys’ names; 11,695 Americans have been recorded with it since 1890 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 8,390 Americans named Cornell and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (72% of everyone recorded); the median is 51 years old and half are between 34 and 65.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Cornell by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Cornell mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Cornell is “a male given name.”
From Cornwall, spelling conflated with the Latin family name Cornelius.
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Cornell?
#6,190 among boys’ names, 2025
Cornell fell from #2,609 in 2015 to #6,190 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 24.5 to 8.2 per million.
247 babies in 1962, the peak
Cornell peaked in 1962, when 247 babies were given it (241 boys, #508 among boys’ names). The 14 births of 2025 are 6% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 14 | #6,190 | 0.01 |
| 2024 | 23 | #4,457 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 21 | #4,769 | 0.01 |
| 2022 | 35 | #3,346 | 0.02 |
| 2021 | 21 | #4,657 | 0.01 |
| 2020 | 36 | #3,145 | 0.02 |
| 2019 | 45 | #2,772 | 0.03 |
| 2018 | 37 | #3,113 | 0.02 |
| 2017 | 52 | #2,458 | 0.03 |
| 2016 | 41 | #2,893 | 0.02 |
Every recorded year (123)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 47 | #2,609 | 0.02 |
| 2014 | 46 | #2,630 | 0.02 |
| 2013 | 56 | #2,286 | 0.03 |
| 2012 | 71 | #1,987 | 0.04 |
| 2011 | 56 | #2,289 | 0.03 |
| 2010 | 78 | #1,853 | 0.04 |
| 2009 | 88 | #1,743 | 0.04 |
| 2008 | 89 | #1,713 | 0.04 |
| 2007 | 86 | #1,730 | 0.04 |
| 2006 | 81 | #1,727 | 0.04 |
| 2005 | 71 | #1,814 | 0.04 |
| 2004 | 72 | #1,747 | 0.04 |
| 2003 | 85 | #1,513 | 0.04 |
| 2002 | 67 | #1,724 | 0.03 |
| 2001 | 60 | #1,840 | 0.03 |
| 2000 | 69 | #1,665 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 64 | #1,656 | 0.03 |
| 1998 | 85 | #1,369 | 0.04 |
| 1997 | 77 | #1,412 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 117 | #1,040 | 0.06 |
| 1995 | 78 | #1,323 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 96 | #1,159 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 113 | #1,035 | 0.06 |
| 1992 | 89 | #1,174 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 113 | #1,008 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 117 | #959 | 0.06 |
| 1989 | 141 | #843 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 141 | #797 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 144 | #764 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 147 | #750 | 0.08 |
| 1985 | 135 | #762 | 0.07 |
| 1984 | 112 | #827 | 0.06 |
| 1983 | 127 | #774 | 0.07 |
| 1982 | 118 | #813 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 121 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1980 | 140 | #741 | 0.08 |
| 1979 | 135 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1978 | 131 | #737 | 0.08 |
| 1977 | 155 | #679 | 0.09 |
| 1976 | 134 | #723 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 137 | #708 | 0.09 |
| 1974 | 156 | #645 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 150 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1972 | 147 | #662 | 0.09 |
| 1971 | 175 | #626 | 0.10 |
| 1970 | 194 | #578 | 0.10 |
| 1969 | 173 | #592 | 0.10 |
| 1968 | 169 | #582 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 173 | #571 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 175 | #572 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 163 | #595 | 0.09 |
| 1964 | 202 | #555 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 165 | #610 | 0.08 |
| 1962 | 241 | #508 | 0.12 |
| 1961 | 168 | #610 | 0.08 |
| 1960 | 144 | #648 | 0.07 |
| 1959 | 194 | #556 | 0.09 |
| 1958 | 195 | #552 | 0.09 |
| 1957 | 226 | #511 | 0.10 |
| 1956 | 200 | #528 | 0.09 |
| 1955 | 218 | #500 | 0.11 |
| 1954 | 206 | #504 | 0.10 |
| 1953 | 209 | #485 | 0.11 |
| 1952 | 213 | #477 | 0.11 |
| 1951 | 191 | #489 | 0.10 |
| 1950 | 159 | #541 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 179 | #493 | 0.10 |
| 1948 | 192 | #480 | 0.11 |
| 1947 | 158 | #537 | 0.09 |
| 1946 | 130 | #563 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 72 | #720 | 0.05 |
| 1944 | 65 | #776 | 0.05 |
| 1943 | 50 | #944 | 0.04 |
| 1942 | 62 | #821 | 0.04 |
| 1941 | 45 | #952 | 0.04 |
| 1940 | 51 | #883 | 0.04 |
| 1939 | 52 | #846 | 0.05 |
| 1938 | 57 | #820 | 0.05 |
| 1937 | 52 | #848 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 48 | #883 | 0.05 |
| 1935 | 47 | #923 | 0.05 |
| 1934 | 53 | #862 | 0.05 |
| 1933 | 60 | #788 | 0.06 |
| 1932 | 51 | #903 | 0.05 |
| 1931 | 57 | #831 | 0.05 |
| 1930 | 45 | #1,024 | 0.04 |
| 1929 | 40 | #1,096 | 0.04 |
| 1928 | 45 | #1,033 | 0.04 |
| 1927 | 52 | #966 | 0.05 |
| 1926 | 44 | #1,051 | 0.04 |
| 1925 | 48 | #985 | 0.04 |
| 1924 | 39 | #1,157 | 0.03 |
| 1923 | 50 | #982 | 0.05 |
| 1922 | 50 | #1,001 | 0.05 |
| 1921 | 43 | #1,071 | 0.04 |
| 1920 | 32 | #1,277 | 0.03 |
| 1919 | 54 | #909 | 0.06 |
| 1918 | 36 | #1,157 | 0.04 |
| 1917 | 48 | #922 | 0.05 |
| 1916 | 36 | #1,075 | 0.04 |
| 1915 | 33 | #1,128 | 0.04 |
| 1914 | 30 | #1,029 | 0.05 |
| 1913 | 24 | #1,027 | 0.05 |
| 1912 | 23 | #943 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 12 | #994 | 0.05 |
| 1910 | 14 | #828 | 0.07 |
| 1909 | 10 | #964 | 0.06 |
| 1908 | 9 | #963 | 0.06 |
| 1907 | 7 | #1,120 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 6 | #1,126 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 5 | #1,178 | 0.04 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,130 | 0.04 |
| 1890 | 6 | #914 | 0.05 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Cornell a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 11,695 Americans recorded as Cornell, 3% are girls and 97% boys. In 2025 it went to 14 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 Cornell: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Cornell, and how old are they?
8,390 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 72% of the 11,695 Americans ever recorded as Cornell. The median Cornell alive today is 51 years old; half are between 34 and 65.
The 2020 Census counted 6,794 people named Cornell (174 women and girls, 6,620 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,879 born in the U.S. The Census count is 23% 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 | 224 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 2,480 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 2,220 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,810 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 1,180 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 470 |
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 Cornell born?
The states with the most babies named Cornell are Illinois, Louisiana and California, with 30% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Louisiana is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 878 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Louisiana | 740 | not ranked | 3.2× |
| California | 593 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New York | 547 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| Michigan | 484 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Pennsylvania | 396 | not ranked | 0.6× |
| South Carolina | 384 | not ranked | 2.1× |
| Texas | 361 | not ranked | 0.4× |
| North Carolina | 342 | not ranked | 1.0× |
| Virginia | 317 | not ranked | 1.2× |
Where Cornell is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Cornell is most over-represented in Louisiana: since 1910 it was given 3.2 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 Cornell 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 12,869 babies since 1880, Cornell is the most given (91% of them).
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 Cornell
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 Cornell and names like it
- Compare Cornell and CornelBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1960sCornell peaked in 1962.
- Illinois’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Cornell since 1910.
- The top names of 1962The year the most babies were named Cornell.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Cornell alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with CMost given first.