Cornelius
A surname taken from the Roman personal name Cornelius, later used as a baptismal name and surname across Christian Europe.
The #1,775 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 15,315 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Cornelius began as an ancient Roman family name, the nomen Cornelius, which is usually treated as a personal name in later surname use. The exact deeper meaning of the Roman name is uncertain; it may be connected with Latin cornu, meaning "horn," but that is not firmly established. In medieval and post-medieval Europe it also spread as a Christian given name, especially in the Low Countries and in English-speaking areas through church use.
History
Bardsley notes that Cornelius and Cornelia became especially popular in the Low Countries because of the cult of Pope Cornelius and his relics at Rosnay in Flanders. As a surname, it often represents descent from or association with the baptismal name Cornelius rather than a native English place-name. Lower explicitly treats Cornelius as the personal name, and related forms such as Cornel, Corney, and Corns are sometimes explained as nicknames or derivatives of the same source.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same name that produced the surname Cornelius also gave rise to familiar variants like Cornell and Corney in historical surname records.
From the historical record
“Cowhoru. CORNELIUS. The personal name. CORNELL. A local pronunciation of Cornwall ? CORNER. From residence at the corner of a street or highway. In the H.R., De la Cornere. It was latinized by in Anr/ulo. In the second vol. of the Rolls it occurs as ill Ag/jlo five times (all with different Christian names,) as in…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom