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Dictionary of Medieval Names
from European Sources

Cornelius m. Latin Cornelius, the name of a Roman gens, which in turn may be derived from Latin cornu 'a horn'.

The name of a Roman centurion held to be the first Gentile to convert to Christianity, a 2nd C pope and patriarch of Antioch, and a 3rd C pope and saint.

Cornelius is sometimes used as an anglicization of Irish Conchob(h)ar (cf. Connor).

England
English
1529 Cornelys PP-HenV p. 10; 1530 Cornelys ibid. p. 23; 1582 Cornellis StAnthonlin p. 29; 1586 Cornelius DEmar-vol2 p. 13
Estonia
Middle Low German
1592 Nellies Tiik1977 p. 285, Nellius ibid. p. 285
France
Latin
1378 Cornelio (dat) hanquetvol1 1442
Latvia
Middle Low German
1514 Karnelius Mettig1892 p. 7; 1518 Karnelius ibid. p. 7
The Netherlands
Dutch
1560 Cornelis MagMiddelburg-1560; 1561 Cornelis ibid.; 1562 Cornelis ibid.; 1563 Cornelis ibid.; 1564 Kornelis ibid.; 1565 Kornelis ibid.; 1566 Kornelis ibid.; 1567 Cornelis ibid., Kornelis ibid.; 1568 Cornelis ibid., Kornelis ibid.; 1569 Cornelis ibid., Kornelis ibid.; 1570 Kornelis ibid.; 1571 Kornelis ibid.; 1572 Kornelis ibid.; 1573 Cornelis ibid.; 1574 Cornelis ibid.; 1575 Cornelis ibid.; 1576 Cornelis ibid.; 1577 Cornelis ibid.; 1578 Cornelis ibid.; 1579 Cornelis ibid.; 1580 Cornelis ibid.; 1581 Cornelis ibid.; 1582 Cornelis ibid., Kornelis ibid.; 1583 Cornelis ibid.; 1584 Cornelis ibid.; 1585 Kornelis ibid.; 1586 Cornelis ibid.; 1587 Kornelis ibid.; 1588 Cornelis ibid.; 1589 Cornelis ibid.; 1591 Cornelis ibid.; 1592 Cornelis ibid.
Cite as: R. Le Get, S.L. Uckelman. "Cornelius". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2015, no. 2. http://dmnes.org/2015/2/name/Cornelius.