NamesBoyC › Cornelius
Boy name

Cornelius

/kɔˈɹniljəs/ · 98% boys · 82 born in 2025

Cornelius has been given to about 37,049 people in the United States since 1880. It was most common in 1974, which makes it a boomer-era name.

Meaning
Origin
Syllables3
Pronunciation/kɔˈɹniljəs/
Nicknames
Living in the US≈ 22,451
Median age today49 years

Popularity, 1880–2025

Babies named Cornelius per year · SSA, ONS, NRS, CSO, INSEE and SSB
18802025
United StatesEngland & WalesScotlandFranceNorwayeach scaled to its own peak
  • Peak year1974 · 498
  • Born in 202582
  • All time37,049
  • England & Wales, 20256

How popular is Cornelius?

Its best year was 1974, when 498 babies were given the name, ranking 346th. The typical living American called Cornelius is about 49 years old today. It is relatively most common in Michigan, where it accounts for 0.01% of births.

Names that sound like Cornelius

Phonetic similarity, 0–1
  1. Marcellus0.59
  2. Cornell0.57
  3. Collins0.53
  4. Julius0.51
  5. Darius0.51
  6. Cassius0.51
  7. Cletus0.51
  8. Darrius0.51

Middle names for Cornelius

Ranked by flow score
  1. Cornelius Paul0.79
  2. Cornelius John0.79
  3. Cornelius Lee0.79
  4. Cornelius Dean0.78
  5. Cornelius Blake0.78
  6. Cornelius Bryce0.78

Sibling names for Cornelius

Same era, comparable use, no clash
  1. Amosbrother · 0.94
  2. Lionelbrother · 0.93
  3. Louiebrother · 0.92
  4. Lenorasister · 0.91
  5. Ninasister · 0.89
  6. Frankieeither · 0.89

Where Cornelius is strongest

Share of 2025 births by state
  1. Michigan0.01%
  2. Texas0.00%
  3. California0.00%

With a common surname

Flow score against the most-used American surnames · try your own
  1. Cornelius White0.74
  2. Cornelius Reyes0.74
  3. Cornelius Moore0.74
  4. Cornelius Lee0.74
  5. Cornelius Hill0.74
  6. Cornelius Hall0.74

How to read these numbers

Every score on this page is explained
  1. Phonetic similarity0–1
  2. Middle-name flow0–1
  3. Sibling fit0–1
  4. Living population estimatemethod
  5. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Sources for Cornelius

Every figure on this page is public record
  1. United States1880–2025
  2. England & Wales1996–2025
  3. Scotland1974–2020
  4. France1900–2025
  5. Norway1945–2025
  6. PronunciationCMU dictionary

Cornelius across America

Share of 2025 births in each state. Darker means more common.
ME
WA
VT
NH
MT
ND
MN
WI
MI
NY
MA
OR
ID
SD
IA
IL
IN
OH
PA
NJ
CT
RI
NV
WY
NE
MO
KY
WV
VA
MD
DE
CA
UT
CO
KS
AR
TN
NC
DC
AZ
NM
OK
LA
MS
AL
SC
AK
TX
GA
FL
HI
raremost common

Source: US Social Security Administration, national and state name files, 2025 release, and the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales. Etymology researched and written by our editors. Living-population and median-age figures are our own estimates, described in the methodology.