boy's name

Cornelius

  • Origin Dutch
  • Gender Boy
  • Syllables 3
  • Letters 9
  • Popularity Uncommon
  • Births on record 40,378

Scotland

#311

1985 births

Cornelius is a boy's name with 3 syllables. In 2025 it was given to 82 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

  • Cornelius is a name of Dutch origin.
  • Peaked in 1974, when 498 babies were given the name.
  • It has been falling over the past decade.
  • Today about 1 in 40,432 babies in the United States is given this name.
  • 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 2.

Cornelius over time

Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.

4,153
'80 '90 '00 '10 '20 '30 '40 '50 '60 '70 '80 '90 '00 '10 '20
Show the numbers
Births named Cornelius by decade in the United States
Decade Births
1880s 918
1890s 870
1900s 991
1910s 3,137
1920s 4,143
1930s 3,200
1940s 2,781
1950s 3,275
1960s 2,832
1970s 4,046
1980s 4,153
1990s 2,896
2000s 1,923
2010s 1,360
2020s (to 2025) 524

How popular is Cornelius?

In 2025, Cornelius was given to 82 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Where Cornelius is used

Scotland #311 3 in 1985
Ireland #770 3 in 2023
Canada #1,627 12 in 2023
United States #1,906 82 in 2025
France #3,203 5 in 2014
England & Wales #3,255 6 in 2025

The bar shows how near the top of each country's list the name sits, on a scale where #1 fills the row and #1,000 is a sliver. The figures beside it are the real rank and the babies recorded that year.

US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.

Names that peaked alongside Cornelius

These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.

Parents who like Cornelius also like

Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Cornelius over the last century — the same taste, a different name.

Cornelius in other languages

The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.

Italian
Cornelio
Polish
Kornel
Spanish
Cornelio
Other forms
Forms we hold no single language for — some are used across several, some are simply spelled differently.
Kornelius

Sibling names for Cornelius

Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Cornelius — the two things that make a sibling set grate.

Common questions about Cornelius

How popular is the name Cornelius?

In 2025, Cornelius was given to 82 babies in the United States. It is used consistently but remains uncommon.

Is Cornelius a girl's or a boy's name?

Cornelius is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.

How many syllables are in Cornelius?

Cornelius has 3 syllables.

When was Cornelius most popular?

Cornelius peaked in 1974, when 498 babies were given the name. It has been falling over the past decade.

Is Cornelius a good name?

That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Cornelius currently ranks #1,906 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.