Cornelis
A masculine name of Dutch origin meaning "horn" or "spear".
Name Census estimates that about 21 living Americans carry the first name Cornelis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cornelis today is around 52 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cornelis births was 1946 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cornelis. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cornelis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
21
~ 1 in 16,321,635 Americans
Peak year
1946
5 babies that year
Average age
52
years old
2002 SSA rank
#10,982
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Cornelis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cornelis from the 1940s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cornelis 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 Cornelis 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 Cornelis
Cornelis is a Dutch masculine given name derived from the Roman family name Cornelius. The name Cornelius originated from the Latin word 'cornu', meaning 'horn'. It is believed that the name was initially given to individuals who had an exceptional talent or physical attribute resembling a horn.
The name Cornelis can be traced back to the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire. It was a popular name among the Roman aristocracy, and several notable historical figures bore this name. One of the earliest recorded examples is Cornelius Scipio Africanus, a Roman general who defeated Hannibal in the Second Punic War in 202 BC.
In the New Testament of the Bible, the name Cornelius appears in the Acts of the Apostles. Cornelius the Centurion was a Roman centurion who is credited with being the first Gentile convert to Christianity.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cornelis gained popularity in the Low Countries, particularly in the Netherlands and Belgium. Several Dutch and Flemish artists, writers, and scholars bore this name.
One of the most famous individuals named Cornelis was Cornelis Drebbel (1572-1633), a Dutch inventor and engineer who is credited with the invention of the first navigable submarine.
Another notable figure was Cornelis de Witt (1623-1672), a Dutch statesman and Grand Pensionary of Holland. He played a crucial role in the Dutch Golden Age and was influential in the development of the Dutch Republic.
In the realm of art, Cornelis van Haarlem (1562-1638) was a Dutch Golden Age painter known for his depictions of biblical and mythological scenes.
Cornelis Vroom (1591-1661) was a Dutch Golden Age maritime painter renowned for his seascapes and naval battle scenes.
Cornelis Troost (1696-1750) was a Dutch Golden Age portrait painter and one of the leading artists in the Dutch Republic during the 18th century.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals named Cornelis throughout history, highlighting the Dutch and Roman origins of this name.
People
Cornelis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cornelis 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
Cornelis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cornelis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 21 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cornelis 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 16,321,635 US residents.
Is Cornelis a common name?
We classify Cornelis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 40.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 25 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cornelis most popular?
The single biggest year for Cornelis was 1946, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cornelis is about 52 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Cornelis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cornelis 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.
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.