Cossie
A feminine diminutive of the given name Constance, of Latin origin meaning "constant, steadfast."
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Cossie. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cossie today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cossie births was 1919 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cossie. 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 Cossie. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1919
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1925 SSA rank
#4,340
Tracked since 1919
Popularity
Cossie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cossie from the 1910s through to the 1920s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1910s, 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
Cossie 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 Cossie 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 Cossie
The name Cossie is believed to have originated in the late 19th century or early 20th century as a diminutive or nickname form of the Scottish surname Cossar. The Cossar surname itself is derived from an old Scottish place name, potentially referring to a location near the River Cossart in Fife.
While the origins of the name Cossie are relatively modern, the Cossar surname can be traced back several centuries. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was John Cossar, who was listed as a burgess of Aberdeen in 1408. Another notable early bearer of the name was William Cossar, a Scottish merchant who lived in the late 16th century.
In terms of the given name Cossie, one of the earliest known individuals to bear this moniker was Cossie Henderson, a Scottish footballer who played for several clubs in the early 1900s, including Heart of Midlothian and Raith Rovers. Henderson was born in 1886 and passed away in 1967.
Another notable bearer of the name Cossie was Cossie Scanlon, an Irish Gaelic footballer who played for the Galway senior team in the 1930s and 1940s. Scanlon was born in 1914 and died in 1993.
In the realm of literature, the name Cossie appears in the works of Scottish author J.M. Barrie, who created the character of Cossie King in his novel "The Little White Bird" published in 1902. Cossie King was a young girl who befriended the novel's protagonist, Captain W. Green.
Moving into more recent times, Cossie Posthuma was a Dutch jazz saxophonist and composer who was active in the mid-20th century. He was born in 1927 and passed away in 1986.
Lastly, Cossie Tannehill was an American professional baseball player who played for the Philadelphia Athletics in the 1930s. He was born in 1906 and died in 1968.
While the name Cossie may have originated as a nickname or diminutive, it has been used as a given name in its own right, particularly in the Scottish and Irish contexts. Its connections to literary characters and notable figures in sports and music have further cemented its place in the annals of given names.
People
Cossie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cossie 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
Cossie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cossie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cossie 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 - US residents.
Is Cossie a common name?
We classify Cossie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% 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 Cossie most popular?
The single biggest year for Cossie was 1919, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cossie is about 0 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 Cossie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cossie a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cossie 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 Cossie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cossie 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 Cossie 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 have the name Cossie?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.