Cornelius
Masculine · “A Roman family name”
Cornelius is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 36,407 boys against 642 girls since 1880. See Cornelius as a girl name
Cornelius is one of the great Roman family names, and it has been carried by a centurion, a pope, an inventor who took a boat under the Thames, and the ferryman who became the richest man in America. Four syllables, a solid start and a Latin finish, with Neil tucked inside for everyday use.
How old is the name Cornelius?
Cornelius was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Cornelius alive today was born around 1957, making them about 68 years old. About 20,500 people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cornelius most popular?
Cornelius peaked in 1882, reaching #130 nationally. Today it ranks #1906, 1,776 places below that high. See the whole 1882 chart.
Cornelius appears on these lists:
Where it comes from
From gens Cornelia to Cornelius
The story of Cornelius
The Cornelii were among the most powerful families of the Roman Republic, and the name passed into Christian use through the centurion Cornelius in the Book of Acts and a third-century pope. It became especially common in the Netherlands, where in the early 1620s the inventor Cornelis Drebbel, working in London for King James, built a covered rowing boat that traveled under the surface of the Thames, the first navigable submarine on record. Dutch families carried the name to New York, and in 1810 the teenage Cornelius Vanderbilt borrowed a small sum from his mother to buy a sailing barge and run a ferry from Staten Island to Manhattan, the start of the shipping and railroad fortune that made him the richest man in the country.
Meaningscholars disagree
A Roman family name, often linked to Latin cornu, 'horn'
Cornelius was the name of a Roman clan, the gens Cornelia. The link to cornu, 'horn', is the common explanation, but the origin of the clan name is not settled.
How the name formed
- gens Cornelia
- Cornelius
Related forms: Cornelis · Cornelio · Corneille · Cornelio · Cornelia
Pronouncing Cornelius
kor-NEEL-yus
Three or four syllables depending on the speaker; kor-NEE-lee-us is also common.
Nicknames for Cornelius
High
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
- 1981454 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #130reached in 1882
- Change vs 2022
- −12.8%82 in 2025, from 94
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.
Cornelius in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Cornelis in Dutch — same name
- Cornelio in Italian — same name
- Corneille in French — same name
- Cornelio in Spanish — same name
- Cornelia in Latin — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, Georgia.
Corneliuss among us
people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 20,830 born in 2025 was named Cornelius
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Cornelius sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Cornelius is headed
Cornelius is easing off slowly — about 16% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Cornelius beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Cornelius in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Instantly recognized and spelled the way everyone expects.
- An unbroken history from ancient Rome to modern America.
- Comes with several short forms, Neil, Corey and Neely among them.
- Carries famous bearers in several fields without belonging to any one of them.
- Four syllables is long for daily use, and most boys named Cornelius are called by a short form.
- The spelling is recorded occasionally for girls, but Cornelia is the established feminine, and a girl called Cornelius would be explaining it often.
- Its Roman weight reads as formal to some people, which others count as the point.
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What they receive
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Cornelius
Masculine · #1906 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Corneliuss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 20,500 people named Cornelius are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cornelius in 2025?
- Cornelius ranks #1906 among US boy names in 2025, with 82 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Cornelius?
- About 1 in every 20,830 US boys born in 2025 was named Cornelius — 82 in all.
- Will my child share the name Cornelius with classmates?
- Cornelius will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Cornelius
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jeronimo#1906 · Linus#1906 · Tayden#1906 · Braxtyn#1906 · Clifton#1906 · Huck#1906 · Neal#1906 · Yechiel#1906
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cornelius? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Cornelius and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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