Boys' name · peaked in 1882
Cornelius name popularity since 1925
28,959 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Cornelius (1.6% girls, 98.4% boys). Half of them were born in 1971 or earlier, so the typical Cornelius is about 55 years old in 2026. Cornelius peaked in 1882 as the #130 name for boys, and it was outside the top 1,000 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 28,959
- Named Cornelius, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1882
- #130 for boys that year
- In 2025
- Not top 1,000
- #1,908 for boys in 2025
- Girls / boys
- 98.4% boys
- 453 girls · 28,506 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 4.83× its national share
Peak year is the year Cornelius made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Cornelius births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1974. Measured as a share of all babies, Cornelius peaked earlier, in 1882.
- Fastest rise: Between 1968 and 1973, Cornelius became 2× more common, from 1 in 7,060 baby boys to 1 in 3,460.
- Steepest fall: Between 1989 and 1994, its share of baby boys fell by 35%, from 1 in 4,630 to 1 in 7,080.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Cornelius's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Cornelius.
Decade by decade
Babies named Cornelius in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 63 | 1,906 | – |
| 1930s | 78 | 3,122 | #316 |
| 1940s | 48 | 2,733 | #369 |
| 1950s | 60 | 3,215 | #393 |
| 1960s | 55 | 2,777 | #468 |
| 1970s | 71 | 3,975 | #379 |
| 1980s | 73 | 4,080 | #439 |
| 1990s | 5 | 2,891 | #642 |
| 2000s | 0 | 1,923 | #987 |
| 2010s | 0 | 1,360 | #1,200 |
| 2020–25 | 0 | 524 | #1,908 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
20.6% of babies named Cornelius from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Cornelius is most popular
The index compares Cornelius's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Cornelius.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 4.83× | 1,474 |
| Alabama | 3.77× | 1,677 |
| Louisiana | 2.72× | 1,230 |
| Georgia | 2.51× | 1,746 |
| South Carolina | 2.32× | 817 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Cornelius and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Cornelius (this page) | 28,506 | 1882 |
| Cornelious | 1,890 | 1886 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Cornelius's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Cornelius.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Cornelius (1882).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data