Conwell
A masculine name of Celtic origin meaning "valiant ruler".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Conwell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Conwell today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Conwell births was 1926 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Conwell. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Conwell is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Conwells were born before 1962.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Conwell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1926
8 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1959 SSA rank
#4,100
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Conwell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Conwell from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 19 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Conwell by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Conwell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Conwell
The name Conwell is an English given name with origins dating back to the late Middle Ages. It is believed to be a variant spelling of the name Cornwall, which itself is derived from the Old English words "corn" meaning "grain" and "wall" meaning "foreigner" or "Roman." The name likely referred to the region of Cornwall in southwestern England, where many Romans settled during the Roman occupation of Britain.
In the 13th century, the name Conwell began appearing in historical records and texts, often referring to individuals from the Cornwall region. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Conwell was in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1230, where a man named Conwell de Bello Campo was mentioned.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance period, the name Conwell remained relatively uncommon but held a certain level of prestige due to its association with the esteemed Cornwall region. Notable individuals bearing the name Conwell during this time include Conwell de Beaumont, a Norman knight who fought in the Crusades in the late 12th century, and Conwell Rede, a respected scholar and theologian at Oxford University in the 15th century.
As the name spread beyond its original geographic roots, it continued to be used in various forms and spellings. In the 17th century, the Reverend Conwell Plumtree served as a prominent Puritan minister in Massachusetts during the early days of the American colonies. Another notable bearer of the name was Conwell Bennett, a British naval officer who played a significant role in the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.
In the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the name Conwell was Russell Herman Conwell, an American Baptist minister, orator, and founder of Temple University in Philadelphia. Born in 1843, Conwell was widely renowned for his inspirational speeches, including his famous "Acres of Diamonds" lecture, which he delivered over 6,000 times in his lifetime.
Other notable figures with the name Conwell throughout history include Charles Conwell, an American actor and playwright in the early 20th century, and Conwell Darlington, a British artist and illustrator known for his works depicting rural life in the early 1900s.
While the name Conwell has waxed and waned in popularity over the centuries, it remains a distinct and intriguing choice with a rich historical legacy spanning multiple cultures and regions.
People
Conwell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Conwell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Conwell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Conwell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Conwell going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Conwell a common name?
We classify Conwell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 49 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Conwell most popular?
The single biggest year for Conwell was 1926, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Conwell is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Conwell in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Conwell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Conwell in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Conwell still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Conwell in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Conwell can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Conwell?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.