# Cornell (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/cornell/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 21,558 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,672 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 14,322 people |
| Change since 2000 | +2.4% (21,060 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Cornwall, spelling conflated with the Latin family name Cornelius.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Cornell in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 89% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 5.1% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 1.0% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7% |
| Two or more races | 1.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Cornell in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

## People named Cornell

- Eric Allin Cornell, American physicist, professor (born 1961)
- Chris Cornell, American musician (1964–2017)
- Katharine Cornell, American actress, theatre manager and producer (1893-1974)
- Joseph Cornell, American artist and filmmaker (1903-1972)
- Ezra Cornell, American businessman (1807-1874)
- Ellie Cornell, American actress
- Don Cornell, American singer (1919-2004)
- John Cornell, Australian film producer, writer, actor, and businessman (1941-2021)
- Lydia Cornell, actress, writer
- Drucilla Cornell, American philosopher and feminist theorist
- Muriel Cornell, British athlete

## Similar surnames

Coronel, Carnell, Cornelio, Carneal, Cornelius, Cornwell, Cromwell, Cornelison, Cornwall, Cornwallis, Crumley, Carnley.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.