Cornelia

Did you know?

A few things about Cornelia you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Cornelia

Cornelia Funke

German author (born 1958)

Choose Cornelia and your child shares a first name with Cornelia Funke, a German author. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Cornelia, like who?” Cornelia Funke's Wikipedia article is available in 48 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Cornelia Funke on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Elena Ternovaja, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 31,546 baby girls born in the US in 2025 was named Cornelia, 51 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Cornelia would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistoryCornelia has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Cornelias, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1880, when it ranked #147. Today it's #3,130, so it could be due a comeback.
• 📈Then vs nowCornelia is 2.2× more common today than it was in 2000. In 2000 it was given to about 1 in 69,930 baby girls; in 2025, about 1 in 31,546.
• 🚀TrendCornelia has climbed 875 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #3,130. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningIn Latin, Cornelia means “horn”. Our records link it to Latin and Scandinavian roots.

About the name Cornelia

Cornelia is a girl name of Latin and Scandinavian origin meaning “horn”. It has 8 letters and 3 syllables, starting with C and ending in “-lia”. US birth records list Cornelia for girls from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked #147 among girl names. In 2025 it ranked #3,130, with 51 babies.

Origin:Latin namesScandinavian names