Corny
A diminutive or nickname for the name "Cornelius" of Latin origin.
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Corny. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Corny today is around 15 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Corny births was 2007 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Corny. 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 Corny. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
2007
6 babies that year
Average age
15
years old
2016 SSA rank
#12,572
Tracked since 2007
Popularity
Corny: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Corny from the 2000s through to the 2010s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 6 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
Corny 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 Corny 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 Corny
The name Corny is believed to have its origins in the Old English language, derived from the word "corn," which referred to a type of grain or cereal crop. It is thought to have emerged as a nickname or descriptive name during the Anglo-Saxon period in England, roughly between the 5th and 11th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Corny can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. The name appears as "Corni," which could have referred to an individual who worked in the cultivation or processing of corn or grains.
In later centuries, the name Corny gained popularity among farming communities and rural areas of England, where agriculture and grain production were crucial elements of daily life. It was seen as a name that celebrated the importance of these crops and the labor involved in their cultivation.
One notable historical figure bearing the name Corny was Corny Kettlewell, an English agriculturalist and farmer who lived in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He is credited with developing innovative farming techniques and promoting the use of crop rotation, which significantly improved agricultural yields.
Another famous individual with the name Corny was Corny O'Kane, an Irish chieftain who lived in the 16th century. He was a prominent leader of the O'Kane clan in Ulster and played a significant role in the conflicts between the Irish clans and the English crown during the Tudor period.
In the literary world, Corny Kelleher was a character in James Joyce's novel "Ulysses," published in 1922. This fictional character represented the working-class people of Dublin and added a touch of humor and wit to the novel's narrative.
Corny Littlejohn was a Scottish footballer who played as a forward for various clubs in the early 20th century, including Rangers F.C. and Ayr United. He was known for his goal-scoring prowess and is remembered as one of the notable players of his era.
While the name Corny may have originated as a descriptive term related to agriculture and rural life, it has since evolved into a unique and distinctive given name, carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history.
People
Corny + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Corny 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
Corny: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Corny?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Corny 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 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Corny a common name?
We classify Corny as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Corny most popular?
The single biggest year for Corny was 2007, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Corny is about 15 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 Corny in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Corny a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Corny 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.
Is Corny still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Corny 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 Corny 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 share the name Corny?
Want to know how many Americans are named Corny? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.