2000
#3,708
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,776
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.25
Rare Last name
Cordell
Derived from a French place name meaning "rope maker's town" or from an Old English word for "maker of cord."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,853 Americans carry the last name Cordell. That puts it at #4,011 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,787 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cordell surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Cordell with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.9K
1 in 34,787
Census rank
#4,011
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,592 bearers of the surname Cordell in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4011th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cordell, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cordell
The surname Cordell originates from France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "cordel," meaning a small cord or rope. The name likely referred to someone who worked as a rope-maker or cord-maker.
In its early days, the surname was found in various regions of France, including Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Doomsday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England compiled in 1086 under the orders of William the Conqueror.
The Cordell surname has undergone several spelling variations over the centuries, including Cordel, Cordell, Cordeill, and Cordelle. These variations can be attributed to the inconsistencies in spelling and record-keeping practices during the Middle Ages.
One notable bearer of the Cordell name was Sir Robert Cordell (c. 1470-1537), an English politician and lawyer who served as the Solicitor General and Speaker of the House of Commons during the reign of Henry VIII. He played a significant role in the legal proceedings surrounding the King's annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon.
Another prominent figure with the Cordell surname was William Cordell (1592-1668), an English colonist and landowner in Virginia. He served as a member of the House of Burgesses and was one of the founders of Middlesex County, Virginia.
In the 18th century, Joshua Cordell (1711-1789) was a notable American merchant and politician from Maryland. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and played a role in the American Revolutionary War.
The Cordell name has also been associated with several place names, such as Cordell, Oklahoma, which was named after a prominent landowner in the area, and Cordell Park in Somerville, Massachusetts, named after a local businessman and philanthropist.
Other notable individuals with the Cordell surname include Edward Cordell (1805-1878), a British politician and Member of Parliament, and Charles Cordell (1844-1926), an American businessman and philanthropist who co-founded the Armour Institute of Technology, now the Illinois Institute of Technology.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cordell
Among Census respondents with the surname Cordell, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Cordell bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Cordell surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.5% · 7,345
- Black or African American5.2% · 447
- Two or more races4.7% · 407
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 252
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cordell
Cordell appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#3,893
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,119
+343 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 3.09
Rank movement Down 185 places
2020
#4,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,592
-527 bearers (-5.8%)
Per 100,000 2.87
Rank movement Down 118 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,708 | 8,776 | 3.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,893 | 9,119 | 3.09 | +343 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 185 places |
| 2020 | #4,011 | 8,592 | 2.87 | -527 bearers (-5.8%) | Down 118 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Cordell surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #3,893 | #4,011 | -3.0% |
| Count | 9,119 | 8,592 | -5.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.09 | 2.87 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cordell bearers went from 9,119 to 8,592 (-5.8% change). The surname moved down 118 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,893 to #4,011.
FAQ
Cordell surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cordell?
Name Census estimates that about 9,853 living Americans carry the surname Cordell. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,787 residents.
How common is Cordell?
Cordell ranks #4,011 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,592 people with the surname Cordell. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,853), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Cordell.
Has Cordell become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cordell went from 9,119 recorded bearers to 8,592. That is a decrease of 527 (-5.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,893 to #4,011.
What does the Census say about the background of Cordell?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cordell, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.5%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cordell in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (7,345 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cordell appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.5%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Cordell (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Cordell mean?
Derived from a French place name meaning "rope maker's town" or from an Old English word for "maker of cord." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Cordell (2.87 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Cordell?
See how many people have the surname Cordell on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.