Cornelious
Masculine
Cornelious is given to both — 2,475 boys and 113 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
The Cornelii were one of the oldest patrician families in Rome and one of the largest — so large that its branches ran the republic for centuries between them, and a Roman hearing the name would have asked which Cornelius you meant.
How old is the name Cornelious?
Cornelious was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cornelious alive today was born around 1947, making them about 78 years old. About 1,200 people named Cornelious are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cornelious most popular?
Cornelious peaked in 1886, reaching #491 nationally. See the whole 1886 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Cornelius to Cornelious
The story of Cornelious
The family supplied Scipio Africanus, who beat Hannibal, and Sulla, who marched on Rome and made himself dictator, and Cinna, and a long list of consuls. When Sulla freed ten thousand slaves they all took his family name, which is one reason it is so common in later records. A centurion called Cornelius appears in Acts as the first non-Jewish convert, and that is how the name entered Christian use and reached English. This spelling inserts an extra o, which makes the ending look like an English adjective — glorious, curious, various — rather than a Latin name.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The Roman clan name has no established meaning. A connection to the Latin word for a horn is offered and is not secure; like most old Roman family names it predates the records that would explain it.
How the name formed
- Cornelius
- Cornelious
Related forms: Cornelis · Cornelio · Cornelio
Pronouncing Cornelious
kor-NEE-lee-us
Four syllables with the weight on the second. The extra o is silent and changes nothing.
Nicknames for Cornelious
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 195240 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #491reached in 1886
- Change vs 2014
- +40.0%7 in 2021, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cornelious in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cornelis in Dutch — related form
- Cornelio in Italian — related form
- Cornelio in Spanish — related form
Corneliouss among us
people named Cornelious are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Cornelious sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- It has forms in Dutch, Italian, Spanish and German.
- It carries several short forms, one of which is a full name elsewhere.
- It has an unbroken run in American records from the first year they were kept.
- Cornelius is the standard spelling and will be written instead.
- Four syllables is long, and the name will be shortened by others.
- The spelling is recorded for girls as well as boys in the United States.
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Cornelious
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Corneliouss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Cornelious are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cornelious in 2025?
- Cornelious is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Cornelious with classmates?
- Cornelious will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cornelious? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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