Cornish Surname

20,082nd
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 27,228 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Bahamas

Cornish Surname Definition:

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'the Cornish,' a Cornish man. A corruption or abbreviation of Cornwallis, which see. Also compare Kentish and Devonish. We do not expect to find Cornish in Cornwall, but in Devonshire.

Read More About This Surname

Cornish Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States11,1551:32,4934,058
England6,6081:8,4321,234
Australia5,0611:5,334770
Canada1,8851:19,5472,724
South Africa5561:97,44211,864
New Zealand4711:9,6141,677
Wales2931:10,5621,178
Bahamas2621:1,495258
Fiji1891:4,732899
Scotland1501:35,6923,478
Mexico1091:1,138,77314,108
Jamaica851:33,7642,376
Jersey491:2,025325
Syria441:438,6605,021
Germany311:2,596,950129,424
France301:2,214,091176,965
Thailand231:3,071,232294,953
Jordan221:401,92912,166
Zimbabwe171:908,13259,260
Isle of Man171:5,0481,065
Lebanon141:402,64911,601
Belgium131:884,35769,774
Netherlands111:1,535,19878,311
Argentina111:3,885,765145,016
Hong Kong91:815,0543,802
Malaysia81:3,686,778134,908
Northern Ireland81:230,63010,839
Spain71:6,678,86292,666
Switzerland71:1,173,27469,697
Tunisia71:87,23213,677
China61:227,886,92811,701
Israel41:2,139,40895,907
Saudi Arabia41:7,713,95437,548
Ireland41:1,177,23516,494
Russia31:48,041,019639,186
Sweden31:3,282,252190,759
United Arab Emirates31:3,054,09190,853
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
India31:255,688,4611,306,352
Indonesia31:44,083,065698,220
Chile21:8,808,23765,417
United States Virgin Islands21:55,1886,229
Cambodia21:7,743,57311,959
Cyprus21:442,4389,493
Italy21:30,578,344160,757
Japan21:63,922,14662,827
Norway21:2,571,14395,402
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Angola11:26,989,21411,853
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Austria11:8,515,435118,036
Kazakhstan11:17,682,496204,010
Belize11:355,4743,977
Bermuda11:65,2793,010
Georgia11:3,745,54547,852
Bulgaria11:6,978,90586,260
Malta11:430,2723,380
Vietnam11:92,646,0548,382
Mauritius11:1,293,41716,552
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
Ukraine11:45,522,696503,646
Ecuador11:15,905,84650,210
Dominican Republic11:10,432,93236,508
Colombia11:47,774,07244,230
Palestine11:4,548,84918,388
Sudan11:37,510,19514,259
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Papua New Guinea11:8,153,717181,784
Singapore11:5,507,70347,049
Denmark11:5,644,71593,155
Philippines11:101,238,223404,861
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland111:402,71514,385
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England4,1191:5,918905
Wales1281:12,253745
Scotland321:116,9765,458
Jersey301:1,729284
Isle of Man51:10,8541,028
Guernsey31:10,8851,562
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States2,8241:17,7832,266

Cornish (125) may also be a first name.

Cornish Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

This surname is derived from a geographical locality. 'the Cornish,' a Cornish man. A corruption or abbreviation of Cornwallis, which see. Also compare Kentish and Devonish. We do not expect to find Cornish in Cornwall, but in Devonshire. Coming over the border the stranger would be called Cornish from the county he had left. Hence Cornish is rare in Cornwall and common in Devonshire. We may safely conclude that when we find Cornish in Cornwall the bearer has returned to the county whence his ancestors sprang.

William Cornish. Calendarium Rotulorum Chartarum.

Margery Cornish. Rolls of Parliament.

Walter Corneys, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

1554. Thomas Corneyshe and Elizabeth Byshopp: Marriage Lic. (London).

1584. Baptised — Elizabeth, d. of James Cornish: St. Columb Major (Cornwall).

A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames (1896) by Charles Wareing Endell Bardsley

(Celtic + English) Cornishman [modelled after English; cp. Old English Cornwealas, Cornishmen, and v. under Cornwall]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

(English) One who came from Cornwall (the Welsh in Cornavia), a county in England.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

Belonging to Cornwall-applied originally to one who had removed from that to another county. A family so called at St. Issey in Cornwall, "originally descended from one William Cornish, who settled here temp. Queen Mary, a Welshman." D. Gilbert's Cornw., ii. 255.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

Local. Belonging to Cornwall, indicating the place from which the family came.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Cornish: from Cornweales, Cornwall; acquired after the West Welsh were suffered to creep back over the Tamar, beyond which Athelstan had banned them.

Family Names And Their Story (1913) by Sabine Baring-Gould

The Devonshire families of Cornish are now best represented in Newton Abbot and its neighbourhood. George Cornish was commander of one of the Bideford ships engaged in the Newfoundland trade in the reign of William III. (Wat.). Richard Cornish was mayor of Barnstaple in the reign of Anne (G.). William Cornish, a Welshman, who settled at St. Issey, Cornwall, in the reign of Mary, is said to have been the ancestor of the St. Issey family of the name (Gilbert's "Cornwall").

Homes of Family Names in Great Britain (1890) by Henry Brougham Guppy

User-submitted Reference

(Celtic) The Cornish surname means 'one who came from Cornwall'.

- dinn315

Cornish Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Cornish Come From? nationality or country of origin

The last name Cornish occurs more in The United States more than any other country/territory. It may also be found in the variant forms:. Click here for other possible spellings of this last name.

How Common Is The Last Name Cornish? popularity and diffusion

The last name is the 20,082nd most frequently occurring last name throughout the world, borne by around 1 in 267,649 people. The surname Cornish is predominantly found in The Americas, where 47 percent of Cornish live; 45 percent live in North America and 45 percent live in Anglo-North America. Cornish is also the 832,731st most frequently held first name internationally, borne by 125 people.

The surname is most frequent in The United States, where it is borne by 11,155 people, or 1 in 32,493. In The United States it is most numerous in: Maryland, where 15 percent are found, New York, where 9 percent are found and California, where 7 percent are found. Outside of The United States this last name occurs in 72 countries. It also occurs in England, where 24 percent are found and Australia, where 19 percent are found.

Cornish Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Cornish has changed over time. In The United States the share of the population with the last name expanded 395 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it expanded 160 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 229 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 469 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it fell 64 percent between 1901 and 2014.

Cornish Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those holding the surname is predominantly Anglican (73%) in Ireland and Sunni (67%) in Lebanon.

In The United States those bearing the Cornish last name are 11.65% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 58.42% registered to vote for the political party.

The amount Cornish earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 67.02% more than the national average, earning R 396,912 per year; in United States they earn 0.75% more than the national average, earning $43,473 USD per year and in Canada they earn 4.8% more than the national average, earning $52,066 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Chornish9311/
Cornisch932/
Corrnish930/
Cornis9283/
Cornies86232/
Kornish86154/
Carnish86134/
Cornist86111/
Cornijs8631/
Cornich8618/
Cornais869/
Cornesh868/
Cornihs867/
Cornois864/
Sornish862/
Curnish862/
Jornish861/
Cornise861/
Zornish861/
Corniss860/
Chornis860/
Corrnis860/
Corni83894/
Chornysh80225/
Corniche80112/
Kornisch8082/
Charnish8020/
Cornisse803/
Ciornich803/
Jhornish801/
Corneich801/
Corrnith800/
Cornes774,205/
Cornic771,757/
Curnis771,141/
Corneh77820/
Cornei77545/
Carnis77470/
Kornis77410/
Cornie77136/
Cornio7750/
Corniş7729/
Kornih7713/
Cornai7711/
Corniz7710/
Cornij779/
Cornii776/
Cornés774/
Cornix773/
Corniy772/
Carnih772/
Cornui772/
Cornit771/
Zornis771/
Corniș771/
Cohrni771/
Cornni770/
Karnish71302/
Corness71298/
Czornij71190/
Cornice71154/
Corniea71148/
Kornishova7191/
Charnis7178/
Kornich7165/
Kournis7160/
Carnise7155/
Sornais7152/
Carnois7148/
Qarnish7147/
Cornuit7135/
Kornysh7131/
Chornes7129/
Corinni7127/
Zournis7127/
Korniss7125/
Kernish7122/
Jornist7112/
Cornneh7111/
Kornizs7110/
Zarnish716/
Cornaia716/
Sarnish713/
Corneus713/
Corneas712/
Cornitt712/
Coornes712/
Jornais712/
Zornist712/
Carnijs712/
Carnies711/
Jarnish711/
Cornher711/
Cournes711/
Zornich711/
Jornich711/
Carnais711/
Kornies711/
Kornith711/
Czornys711/
Cornije711/
Cornait711/
Cornejs711/
Carnich710/
Corneid710/
Carneis710/
Carnesh710/
Cornese710/
Cornest710/
Corneit710/
Cornipp710/
Cournio710/
Korni674,747/
Corna674,558/
Corne673,633/
Carni67599/
Qorni67418/
Cornesse67266/
Corny67257/
Charnois67125/
Journois6787/
Sournois6761/
Corné6755/
Sournies6747/
Zhornist6731/
Cornuijt6727/
Korneich6720/
Charnysh6717/
Zarnisch6717/
Journist679/
Cornetts676/
Charnais676/
Kharnish675/
Carniche674/
Korinnis674/
Corennoi672/
Jarnisch672/
Chorness672/
Sournais672/
Charnise671/
Kornischova671/
Corennii671/
Corrinni671/
Courenni671/
Journais671/
Czornysz671/
Cornè671/
Kornoich671/
Kerrnish670/
Kernisch670/
Kornh670/
Coorness670/
Courness670/
Sourniss670/

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Cornish Reference & Research

Cornish One-name Study - A profile of the Cornish surname with contact details for a researcher who collects any information pertaining to it.

Kronish DNA Website - A web page dedicated to the genetic research of those who bear the surname and its variants.

Kronish FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.

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Footnotes

  • Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
  • Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
  • Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
  • Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
  • Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
  • Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
  • Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Cornish
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis