Corlis
Of unknown origins, a feminine name with possible meanings suggested as "joyous" or "lively".
Name Census estimates that about 347 living Americans carry the first name Corlis. It is a predominantly female name (93.8% of registrations). The average person named Corlis today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Corlis births was 1957 (56 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Corlis. 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 Corlis is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Corlis' were born before 1966.
People living today
347
~ 1 in 987,765 Americans
Peak year
1957
56 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1934 SSA rank
#3,780
Tracked since 1918
Census
Corlis in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 504 people with the first name Corlis, which placed it at #20,488 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,488
National first-name rank
People counted
504
504 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
57.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Corlis
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Corlis is Black at 57.5%. The next largest groups are White (36.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Corlis described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Corlis at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American57.5% · 290
- White36.1% · 182
- Two or more races3.0% · 15
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Corlis
Corlis leans heavily female at 93.8% of total registrations, but 32 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Corlis as a male name
- Ranked #3,780 in 1934
- 5 male births in 1934
- Peak: 1926 (6 births)
Corlis as a female name
- Ranked #5,926 in 1966
- 6 female births in 1966
- Peak: 1957 (56 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Corlis leans strongly female. 465 people counted with this name were female (90.3%), compared with 50 male bearers (9.7%).
Popularity
Corlis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Corlis from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 368 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Corlis 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 Corlis during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Corlis' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Florida recorded the most babies named Corlis, while Virginia, Tennessee, Alabama recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Corlis
The name Corlis is believed to have originated from the Old English language, with roots dating back to the 5th century CE. It is derived from the combination of two words: "cor," meaning "heart" or "core," and "lis," meaning "meadow" or "field." The name thus carries the meaning of "one who dwells in the heart of the meadow" or "one who lives in the heart of the field."
Corlis was a relatively uncommon name during the Anglo-Saxon period but gained some popularity in later centuries. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where a landowner named Corlis is mentioned as holding property in the county of Dorset.
In the 12th century, a monk named Corlis was known for his scholarly works on theology and philosophy. He was born in 1122 in Oxfordshire and died in 1198. His writings were widely studied in monastic circles throughout Europe during the Middle Ages.
During the Renaissance period, Corlis emerged as a somewhat fashionable name among the nobility and upper classes. Notable figures from this era include Corlis Beaumont (1503-1567), a renowned painter and portrait artist who worked for the English court, and Corlis Wyndham (1550-1612), a renowned explorer and navigator who sailed with Sir Francis Drake.
In the 17th century, Corlis Cromwell (1625-1688) was a prominent military leader and politician who served as a general under Oliver Cromwell during the English Civil War. He played a crucial role in several battles and was later appointed as a member of the Protectorate Parliament.
Another noteworthy individual was Corlis Montague (1718-1792), a celebrated actor and playwright who was highly regarded for his comedic roles on the London stage during the Georgian era. His works were widely performed and popular among audiences of the time.
While the name Corlis has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, it has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, each contributing to its rich tapestry of meaning and significance.
People
Corlis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Corlis 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
Corlis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Corlis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 347 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Corlis 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 987,765 US residents.
Is Corlis a common name?
We classify Corlis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 515 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Corlis most popular?
The single biggest year for Corlis was 1957, when 56 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Corlis is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Corlis in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 504 people with the name Corlis, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,488 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Corlis in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Corlis?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Corlis leans strongly female. 465 people counted with this name were female (90.3%), compared with 50 male bearers (9.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Corlis?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Corlis is Black at 57.5%. The next largest groups are White (36.1%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Corlis most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Corlis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.5% (290 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Corlis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Corlis a female name?
Yes, 93.8% of people registered as Corlis in the SSA data are female. 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 Corlis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Corlis 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 Corlis 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.
How many people are called Corlis?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.