Cornellia
A feminine name derived from the Latin "cornea" meaning horn or horn-shaped.
Name Census estimates that about 19 living Americans carry the first name Cornellia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Cornellia today is around 66 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cornellia births was 1949 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cornellia. 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 Cornellia is about 66 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Cornellias were born before 1970.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Cornellia. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
19
~ 1 in 18,039,702 Americans
Peak year
1949
8 babies that year
Average age
66
years old
1977 SSA rank
#8,661
Tracked since 1925
Popularity
Cornellia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cornellia from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1940s peak, Cornellia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cornellia 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 Cornellia 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 Cornellia
Cornellia is a feminine given name derived from the Latin name Cornelius, which itself is derived from the ancient Roman family name Cornelii. The Cornelii were one of the most prominent patrician families in ancient Rome, and the name is believed to have originated from the Latin word cornu, meaning "horn."
The earliest recorded use of the name Cornelius dates back to the 5th century BC, when it was borne by members of the Cornelii family. One of the most famous ancient Romans with this name was Cornelius Sulla, a Roman dictator who lived from 138 BC to 78 BC and played a significant role in the civil wars of the late Roman Republic.
As the name Cornelius spread throughout the Roman Empire, it eventually gave rise to various feminine forms, including Cornelia and Cornellia. The earliest recorded use of the name Cornellia can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when it was used as a Christian name in various parts of Europe.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Cornellia was Cornellia Arria, a Roman woman who lived in the 1st century AD and was renowned for her bravery and virtue. She encouraged her husband, Paetus Thrasea, to commit suicide rather than submit to the tyranny of the Roman emperor Nero.
Another notable figure with the name Cornellia was Cornellia da Brescia, an Italian painter who lived in the 16th century and was known for her religious works and portraits.
In the 17th century, Cornellia Catharina de Lannoy was a Dutch painter who specialized in portrait and still life paintings. She was born in 1630 and died in 1706.
During the 19th century, Cornellia Maria Hendrika Arnolda Kruseman was a Dutch painter and feminist who lived from 1832 to 1896. She was known for her portraits and genre paintings, as well as her advocacy for women's rights and education.
In the 20th century, Cornellia Brandt was a Swedish actress who appeared in several films and television series between the 1940s and 1970s. She was born in 1908 and died in 1994.
While the name Cornellia has seen varying levels of popularity throughout history, it remains a unique and historically significant name with roots in ancient Roman culture and Christian tradition.
People
Cornellia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cornellia 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
Cornellia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cornellia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cornellia 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 18,039,702 US residents.
Is Cornellia a common name?
We classify Cornellia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 39.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 37 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cornellia most popular?
The single biggest year for Cornellia was 1949, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cornellia is about 66 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 Cornellia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cornellia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cornellia 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 Cornellia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cornellia 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 Cornellia 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 are named Cornellia?
Find out how many Americans are named Cornellia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.