2000
#8,551
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,547
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.31
Rare Last name
Cornelison
Derived from the Dutch surname Cornelissen, meaning "son of Cornelis," a given name derived from the Latin name Cornelius.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,958 Americans carry the last name Cornelison. That puts it at #9,092 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 86,598 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cornelison 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.
Bearers in the US
4.0K
1 in 86,598
Census rank
#9,092
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,452 bearers of the surname Cornelison in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9092nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornelison, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cornelison
The surname Cornelison has its origins in England, traced back to the early 13th century. It is derived from the Old English personal name "Cornelius," which itself is a latinized form of the Dutch name "Cornelis." The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Cornilisun" in 1219, found in the Feet of Fines for Suffolk.
Cornelison is a patronymic surname, meaning it was originally formed by adding the suffix "-son" to the personal name Cornelius, indicating "son of Cornelius." This naming practice was common in medieval England, particularly in the northern counties.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cornelison can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1273, which mentions a Robert Cornelison. The name also appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1327, where a John Cornelison is listed.
The Cornelison surname has connections to several place names in England, such as Cornilsworth in Lancashire and Cornhill in Durham. These locations may have influenced the spelling variations of the name over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Cornelison include:
1. William Cornelison (c. 1540 - 1611), an English merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Mercers in London.
2. Thomas Cornelison (1651 - 1718), a prominent landowner and Justice of the Peace in Gloucestershire.
3. Mary Cornelison (1759 - 1829), an English author and poet, known for her collection of sonnets titled "Reflections on Nature."
4. John Cornelison (1812 - 1887), a British explorer and cartographer who mapped parts of the Canadian Arctic.
5. Elizabeth Cornelison (1865 - 1942), an early advocate for women's suffrage and founder of the Cornish Women's Institute.
While the Cornelison surname has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and intermarriage. However, the majority of historical records and notable individuals bearing this name can be traced back to its English origins.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cornelison
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornelison, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Cornelison 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 Cornelison surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.2% · 3,010
- Two or more races4.7% · 163
- Black or African American3.4% · 116
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 111
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cornelison
Cornelison 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
#9,033
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,617
+70 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 1.23
Rank movement Down 482 places
2020
#9,092
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,452
-165 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 1.15
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,551 | 3,547 | 1.31 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,033 | 3,617 | 1.23 | +70 bearers (+2.0%) | Down 482 places |
| 2020 | #9,092 | 3,452 | 1.15 | -165 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 59 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 Cornelison 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 | #9,033 | #9,092 | -0.7% |
| Count | 3,617 | 3,452 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.23 | 1.15 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cornelison bearers went from 3,617 to 3,452 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,033 to #9,092.
FAQ
Cornelison surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cornelison?
Name Census estimates that about 3,958 living Americans carry the surname Cornelison. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 86,598 residents.
How common is Cornelison?
Cornelison ranks #9,092 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,452 people with the surname Cornelison. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,958), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Cornelison.
Has Cornelison become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cornelison went from 3,617 recorded bearers to 3,452. That is a decrease of 165 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,033 to #9,092.
What does the Census say about the background of Cornelison?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cornelison, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and Black (3.4%). 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 Cornelison in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.2% (3,010 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cornelison appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.2%), Two or More Races (4.7%), Black (3.4%). 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 Cornelison (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 Cornelison mean?
Derived from the Dutch surname Cornelissen, meaning "son of Cornelis," a given name derived from the Latin name Cornelius. 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 Cornelison (1.15 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 many Americans have the surname Cornelison?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.