Cornelius: Meaning of Baby Name Cornelius

About the Name Cornelius

Cornelius descends from an ancient Roman family name, the gens Cornelia, one of the most prominent clans of the Republic; its root is often linked to the Latin cornu, meaning "horn," an emblem of strength. Carried forward through early Christian usage — a Cornelius appears among the first Gentile converts in the New Testament — the name gathered associations of resolve, dignity, and wisdom over the centuries.

Stately and richly classical, Cornelius has a venerable, almost scholarly air. Its four full syllables give it gravity, while its long history across Roman, biblical, Irish, and Dutch traditions has kept it in steady, if modest, use. It is the kind of dignified, old-fashioned name that rewards parents drawn to substance and heritage, and it lends itself to friendly short forms that soften its formal grandeur for everyday life.

Cornelius first entered the US Social Security top-1000 for boys in 2000 and reached its peak in 2003 at rank #789. It last appeared in the top-1000 in 2008 at #988, having been given to about 1,757 boys across those years — a quietly enduring presence rooted in its deep classical pedigree. Recorded variants and short forms include Connie and Cornell, the latter echoing the name's distinguished, surname-like dignity. For parents drawn to grand, time-tested classics, Cornelius offers genuine gravitas softened by friendly, everyday nicknames.

Source: U.S. Social Security Administration name data, 1880–2024 (methodology). By Marvin Tang.

Quick Facts About Cornelius

1,167

Irish baby names in our dictionary

705

Irish male names

130

9-letter C-names in our dictionary

791

C-male names total

2000–2008

years of US SSA records (9 total)

1,757

total US births named Cornelius (all years)

US Popularity History (2000–2008)

📉 Falling fast: Cornelius dropped 199 places in the US boys ranking over the last 5 years (#789 in 2003 → #988 in 2008).

Annual US births named Cornelius by gender, from US Social Security Administration records. Peak year: 2003 with 222 boys named Cornelius (boy rank #789 that year).

Where it stands today: in 2008, ranked #988 for boys (199 US births). That's 199 places below its 2003 peak.

Source: US Social Security Administration. Limitations: US birth-certificate data only; names appearing fewer than 5 times in a given year are suppressed for privacy; spelling variants are counted separately. For names that ranked outside the US top 100 before year 2000, only the years they reached the top 100 are shown — the chart may have gaps for less-popular historical names.

Where in the US Is Cornelius Most Popular?

Average boy-name rank within each state across 2016–2025 SSA records. A lower number means the name appears closer to the top of that state's boys-name rankings — a per-capita measure that isn't biased toward large states. For Cornelius the strongest states are Mississippi, Alabama, Michigan.

Strongest boys-name states

#	State	Avg rank	Births
1	Mississippi	#499	23
2	Alabama	#665	35
3	Michigan	#838	33
4	Georgia	#910	26
5	Tennessee	#923	23

Weakest boys-name states

#	State	Avg rank	Births
1	Tennessee	#923	23
2	Georgia	#910	26
3	Michigan	#838	33
4	Alabama	#665	35
5	Mississippi	#499	23

Source: SSA state-level baby-name dataset 2016–2025. States with fewer than 3 years of data for Cornelius in this window are excluded. Births < 5 in a given state-year are suppressed by SSA for privacy.

Variant Forms

Name	Meaning	Gender	Origin
Connie	Strong Willed Or Wise	Male	Irish

Looking for names like Cornelius?

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Compare Cornelius to Other Popular Names

Side-by-side popularity charts and crossover years for Cornelius against today's most popular boys-name peers (top 8 by US births in the last 10 years of SSA records).

Cornelius vs Liam 239,320 births since 2014

Cornelius vs Noah 230,181 births since 2014

Cornelius vs Oliver 164,076 births since 2014

Cornelius vs William 159,918 births since 2014

Cornelius vs James 157,850 births since 2014

Cornelius vs Elijah 153,351 births since 2014

Cornelius vs Benjamin 147,449 births since 2014

Cornelius vs Lucas 141,302 births since 2014

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