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Cornelius History Etymology Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

Australia West Indies Canada United States

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Citations

Cornelius History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
England

Etymology of Cornelius

What does the name Cornelius mean?

The Cornelius surname finds its earliest origins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. Their name is derived from Cornelius, a given name that came to England in the 15th or 16th century from Holland or Belgium. The names Cornelius and Cornelia were popular in the Low Countries because the relics of St. Cornelius, a Pope from the third century, were kept at the Chapter of Rosnay, in Flanders. 1

Early Origins of the Cornelius family

The surname Cornelius was first found in Essex, where they held a family seat from the Middle Ages.

Early History of the Cornelius family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Cornelius research. Another 54 words (4 lines of text) covering the years 1354, 1557, 1568, 1575, 1594 and 1664 are included under the topic Early Cornelius History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Cornelius Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Cornelius are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Cornelius include: Cornelius, Cornelis, Cornellis, Cornelys and others.

Early Notables of the Cornelius family

Notables of the family at this time include

John Cornelius (1557-1594), English Jesuit, a native of Bodmin, Cornwall...

Cornelius Ranking

In the United States, the name Cornelius is the 1,762^nd most popular surname with an estimated 17,409 people with that name. 2 However, in South Africa, the name Cornelius is ranked the 862^nd most popular surname with an estimated 8,115 people with that name. 3

Cornelius migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Cornelius Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Richard Cornelius, British convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Asia" on 29th September 1831, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
Mr. Henry Cornelius, (b. 1813), aged 21, English Labourer who was convicted in London, England for 7 years for pocket picking, transported aboard the "Henry Tanner" on 27th June 1834, settling in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1855 5
Miss Mary Cornelius who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Edward" on 23rd April 1834, arriving in Tasmania, (Van Diemen's Land) 6
Richard Cornelius, who arrived in Adelaide, Australia aboard the ship "Royal Admiral" in 1838 7
Mr. John Cornelius, English sailor who was convicted in Devon, England for 15 years for assault, transported aboard the "Blundell" on 13th March 1844, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cornelius migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9

Cornelius Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Bernard Cornelius who sailed to Barbados in 1678
Peals Cornelius, aged 18, who landed in Barbados in 1683 10
Pads Cornelius, aged 18, who arrived in Barbados in 1683 10

Cornelius migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cornelius Settlers in Canada in the 17th Century

Tecle Cornelius, who arrived in Montreal in 1661

Cornelius Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Mr. John Cornelius U.E. who settled in Fredericksburgh, Cataraqui township, [Greater Napanee], Ontario c. 1783 11

Cornelius migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Cornelius Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Aaron Cornelius, who landed in New York in 1645 10
Eleanor Cornelius, who landed in Maryland in 1651 10
Robert Cornelius, who arrived in Virginia in 1657 10
Margaret Cornelius, who landed in Maryland in 1658 10
Alicia Cornelius, who arrived in Maryland in 1658 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cornelius Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Christian Cornelius, who landed in New Jersey in 1730 10
Elizabeth Cornelius, aged 20, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1733 10
Elizabeth Cornelius to Philadelphia in 1733
Peter Cornelius, who landed in America in 1733 10
Vronicke Cornelius, aged 8, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1733 10
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cornelius Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francis Cornelius, who arrived in New York in 1836 10
Christian Cornelius, who landed in Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Joh. Derhardt" 10
Mrs. Cath. Cornelius, (nee Schraeddor), German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Joh. Derhardt"
Miss Cath. Cornelius, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Joh. Derhardt"
Miss Jeanette Cornelius, German who arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1845 aboard the ship "Joh. Derhardt"
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Cornelius Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

Miss Lily Cornelius, (b. 1877), aged 26, Cornish shop assistant travelling aboard the ship "New York" arriving at Ellis Island, New York in 1903 en route to San Francisco, California, USA 12

Contemporary Notables of the name Cornelius (post 1700) +

Thomas R. Cornelius (1827-1899), American politician and soldier, eponym of Cornelius, Oregon
Carl August Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), German composer, writer about music, poet and translator
Alvin Robert Cornelius (1903-1991), Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan from 1960 to 1968
Marty Cornelius, American artist
Donald Cortez "Don" Cornelius (1936-2012), American television show host and producer who created and was the host of Soul Train (1971 to 1993)
Samuel Cornelius, American music producer, who founded Sun Records in 1952
Peter Cornelius (1824-1874), German composer
Gert Cornelius Nel (1885-1950), South African botanist
Andre Cornelius Botha (b. 1975), former Irish cricketer
John Cornelius Moorfield QSO (1943-2018), also known as Te Murumara, a New Zealand academic, a specialist in the teaching of the Maori language

Historic Events for the Cornelius family +

HMS Royal Oak

Herbert Julian Cornelius (1914-1939), British Surgeon Lieutenant with the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking 13

USS Arizona

Mr. Lyle R. Cornelius, American Seaman Second Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking 14
Mr. P. W. Cornelius, American Ship's Cook Third Class from Texas, USA working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he died in the sinking 14

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1831
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/henry-tanner
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th January 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/edward
State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) ROYAL ADMIRAL 1838. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1838RoyalAdmiral.htm
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blundell
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 3rd May 2018). Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_ellis_island_1892_on.pdf
Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html