Courtnei
An English feminine name of uncertain meaning and origin.
Name Census estimates that about 221 living Americans carry the first name Courtnei. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Courtnei today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Courtnei births was 1990 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Courtnei. 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.
People living today
221
~ 1 in 1,550,925 Americans
Peak year
1990
20 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
2011 SSA rank
#17,378
Tracked since 1980
Census
Courtnei in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 234 people with the first name Courtnei, which placed it at #34,758 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#34,758
National first-name rank
People counted
234
234 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Courtnei
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courtnei is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Courtnei described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Courtnei at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.8% · 161
- White23.9% · 56
- Two or more races4.3% · 10
- Hispanic or Latino1.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3
Popularity
Courtnei: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Courtnei from the 1980s through to the 2010s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 127 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Courtnei 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 Courtnei 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 Courtnei
The name Courtnei is a modern spelling variation of the English name Courtney, which itself derives from the French surname Courtney or Courtenay. The name has its origins in the Norman French words "curt" meaning "short" and "nai" from the Latin natus, meaning "born." Together, these elements suggest the name means "short-nosed" or "short and well-bred."
The Courtenay family was a prominent noble family that originated in Courtenay, a town in the Loiret region of northern France. They played a significant role in English history, with several members holding important positions and titles, including those of Earl of Devon and Marquess of Exeter.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Courtnei can be found in the 12th century, when Renaud de Courtenay, a French nobleman, participated in the Third Crusade alongside Richard the Lionheart. Another notable bearer of the name was Pierre de Courtenay, who became the Latin Emperor of Constantinople in the early 13th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Courtnei or its variations. One of the earliest recorded was Courtnei de Pratis (born around 1190), an English clergyman and scholar who served as Archdeacon of Shrewsbury and later as Bishop of Worcester.
In the 15th century, Courtnei Cely (c. 1420-1493) was a prominent English merchant and member of the Cely family, known for their extensive trade networks and correspondence, which provides valuable insights into the commercial life of the time.
During the 16th century, Courtnei Vere (c. 1515-1598) was an English courtier and military commander who served under Queen Elizabeth I. He played a significant role in suppressing the Northern Rebellion of 1569 and was later appointed Governor of Portsmouth.
In the 17th century, Courtnei Throckmorton (1629-1680) was an English landowner and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Warwickshire during the reign of King Charles II.
Another notable bearer of the name was Courtnei Cromwell (1668-1723), a British military officer and Member of Parliament who served as Governor of Landguard Fort and was involved in the defense of England during the War of the Spanish Succession.
People
Courtnei + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Courtnei 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
Courtnei: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Courtnei?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 221 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Courtnei 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 1,550,925 US residents.
Is Courtnei a common name?
We classify Courtnei as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 229 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Courtnei most popular?
The single biggest year for Courtnei was 1990, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Courtnei is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Courtnei in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 234 people with the name Courtnei, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #34,758 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Courtnei in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Courtnei?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Courtnei leans strongly female. 223 people counted with this name were female (95.3%), compared with 11 male bearers (4.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Courtnei?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Courtnei is Black at 68.8%. The next largest groups are White (23.9%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Courtnei most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Courtnei in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (161 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Courtnei in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Courtnei a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Courtnei 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 Courtnei still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Courtnei 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 Courtnei 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.
How many people share the name Courtnei?
Want to know how many Americans are named Courtnei? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.