Corliss
Girl's name likely derived from "coeur de lys" (heart of lily).
Name Census estimates that about 1,885 living Americans carry the first name Corliss. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 89.3% of registrations being female. The average person named Corliss today is around 67 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Corliss births was 1946 (187 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Corliss. 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 Corliss is about 67 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Corliss' were born before 1969.
People living today
1.9K
~ 1 in 181,833 Americans
Peak year
1946
187 babies that year
Average age
67
years old
1996 SSA rank
#9,265
Tracked since 1913
Census
Corliss in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,264 people with the first name Corliss, which placed it at #6,914 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
#6,914
National first-name rank
People counted
2.3K
2,264 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
48.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Corliss
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Corliss is Black at 48.2%. The next largest groups are White (45.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Corliss 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 Corliss at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.2% · 1,092
- White45.0% · 1,018
- Two or more races2.2% · 49
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 48
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 35
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 22
Gender
Gender distribution for Corliss
Corliss leans heavily female at 89.3% of total registrations, but 343 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Corliss as a male name
- Ranked #9,265 in 1996
- 5 male births in 1996
- Peak: 1994 (22 births)
Corliss as a female name
- Ranked #16,314 in 2003
- 5 female births in 2003
- Peak: 1946 (182 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Corliss leans strongly female. 2,069 people counted with this name were female (91.2%), compared with 199 male bearers (8.8%).
Popularity
Corliss: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Corliss from the 1910s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 1,133 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
Corliss 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 Corliss during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Corliss' live
The SSA's state-level files cover 25 states and territories. Illinois, California, Louisiana recorded the most babies named Corliss, while Wisconsin, North Dakota, Mississippi recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Corliss
The given name Corliss has its roots in the Old French language, originating from the term "corlieu," which referred to a small village or hamlet. This name gained prominence during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions of present-day France and England.
Corliss is believed to have derived from the Old French word "cor," meaning "heart," combined with the suffix "-liss," which denotes a connection or relation. Thus, the name could be interpreted as "heart's connection" or "heart's bond," suggesting a sense of unity or attachment.
In ancient times, the name Corliss was sometimes associated with the notion of a strong, unwavering spirit or a steadfast character. It was not uncommon for parents to bestow this name upon their children as a symbol of resilience and determination.
The earliest recorded instance of the name Corliss dates back to the 12th century, when it appeared in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings and properties compiled in England by order of William the Conqueror in 1086.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Corliss. One such figure was Corliss Lamont (1902-1995), an American philosopher and advocate for civil liberties, who played a significant role in the humanist movement of the 20th century.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Corliss Archer (1828-1901), an American engineer and inventor renowned for his contributions to the development of the Corliss steam engine, which revolutionized industrial power generation during the Industrial Revolution.
In the realm of literature, Corliss Allardyce (1923-2011) was an esteemed American scholar and author, best known for her groundbreaking work on the history of the novel and her seminal book, "The Modern British Novel."
The name Corliss also graced the stage, with Corliss Archer (1886-1952), an American actress and vaudeville performer who made her mark in early 20th-century theater and films.
Lastly, Corliss Williamson (born 1973) is a former professional basketball player from the United States, who enjoyed a successful career in the NBA, playing for teams like the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Corliss
People
Corliss + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Corliss 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
Corliss: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Corliss?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,885 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Corliss 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 181,833 US residents.
Is Corliss a common name?
We classify Corliss as "Rare". It ranks above 93.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,192 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Corliss most popular?
The single biggest year for Corliss was 1946, when 187 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Corliss is about 67 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Corliss in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,264 people with the name Corliss, or 0.75 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,914 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 Corliss 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 Corliss?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Corliss leans strongly female. 2,069 people counted with this name were female (91.2%), compared with 199 male bearers (8.8%). 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 Corliss?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Corliss is Black at 48.2%. The next largest groups are White (45.0%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Corliss most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Corliss in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.2% (1,092 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 Corliss in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Corliss a female name?
Yes, 89.3% of people registered as Corliss 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 Corliss still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Corliss 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 Corliss 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 share the name Corliss?
You can see how many people have the name Corliss on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.