Find out how popular the first name Cormac has been for the last 50 years (from 1974 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Cormac by gender

Based on the last 50 years of data, Cormac is exclusively a male name.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 158 male babies and 0 female babies born with the name Cormac.

The history of the first name Cormac

The name Cormac originates from the Gaelic Irish language and has been in use since ancient times. It is derived from the Old Irish words "corp" meaning body and "macc" meaning son, literally translating to "son of chariot" or "son of the body".

In Irish mythology, Cormac was the name of several influential figures, including Cormac mac Airt, a legendary king of Ireland who reigned in the 3rd century AD. He is celebrated in the ancient Irish text known as the Annals of the Four Masters for his wisdom, leadership, and establishment of important laws.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was Cormac Ua Liathain, an Irish king who ruled the Kingdom of Munster in the 9th century AD. He is mentioned in the Annals of Inisfallen, a chronicle of medieval Irish history.

During the Middle Ages, the name Cormac was popular among Irish nobility and clergy. Saint Cormac, also known as Cormac of Cashel, was a prominent 12th-century bishop and king of Munster who is credited with building the remarkable Cormac's Chapel at the Rock of Cashel.

In the 16th century, Cormac O'Connor was an Irish chieftain and one of the last inaugurated kings of Offaly, a kingdom in the modern-day Irish Midlands. He played a significant role in the Tudor conquest of Ireland and is mentioned in various historical records from that period.

Another notable bearer of the name was Cormac Ó Máille, a 16th-century Irish pirate queen who commanded a flotilla of galleys and defended her clan's territory along the western coast of Ireland against English forces and rival Irish clans.

In more recent centuries, Cormac McCarthy, born in 1933, is a renowned American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his works such as "All the Pretty Horses," "No Country for Old Men," and "The Road," which won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2007.

Cormac Capitine, born in 1979, is a French hurdler and Olympic medalist who won the gold medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2012 London Olympics and the silver medal in the same event at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Cormac was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cormac, please contact us.

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