Cornelia is a feminine given name. It is a feminine form of the name Cornelius^[1] or Cornelis. Nel, Nele, Nelly, Corey, Lia, or Nelia can be used as a shortened version of Cornelia. Conny, Connie, Nele, or Neele are popular German short forms used in their own right. Lia and Cokkie are diminutive versions of the Dutch name.

It also has the alternate spellings of Kornelia, Korneliya, and Cornélia.

Origin

In ancient Rome, Cornelia was the nomen gentilicium of women born into the gens Cornelia. This gens was widespread and some notable members of it include; Cornelia Africana (mother of the Gracchi brothers), Cornelia (first wife of Julius Caesar) and Cornelia Salonina (Roman empress as the wife of Gallienus).

Women with the name

• Cornelia van Cortlandt, the mother of General Philip Schuyler and grandmother of Angelica, and Eliza, the wife of General Alexander Hamilton, 1st Secretary of the Treasury, a Founding Father, as well as others.
• Cornelia Bargmann (born 1961), American neurobiologist
• Cornelia "Conny" van Bentum (born 1965), Dutch swimmer
• Cornelia "Corrie" ten Boom (1892–1983), Dutch World War II resistance member
• Cornelia "Kea" Bouman (1903–1998), Dutch tennis player
• Cornelia Bürki (born 1953), Swiss long-distance runner
• Cornelia Brandolini d'Adda (born 1979), Italian fashion director
• Cornelia Clapp (1849–1934), American zoologist and marine biologist
• Cornelia Denz (born 1963), German physicist
• Cornelia Fabri (1869-1915), Italian mathematician
• Cornelia Füeg (born 1941), Swiss politician
• Cornelia Hubertina "Neel" Doff (1858–1942), Dutch-Belgian writer
• Cornelia Dow (1842–1905), American philanthropist, temperance activist
• Cornelia Druţu, Romanian mathematician
• Cornelia Dumler (born 1982), German volleyball player
• Cornelia Elgood (1874 – 1960), British physician
• Cornelia Emilian (1840-1910), Romanian women's activist
• Cornelia Frances (1941-2018), English-Australian actress
• Cornelia Froboess (born 1943), German actress and singer
• Cornelia Funke (born 1958), German children's writer
• Cornelia Gillyard (born 1941), American chair of Spellman chemistry department
• Cornelia Deaderick Glenn (1854–1926), First Lady of North Carolina
• Cornelia Nycke Groot (born 1988), Dutch handball player
• Cornelia Hanisch (born 1952), German fencer
• Cornelia Collins Hussey (1827–1902), American philanthropist, writer
• Cornelia Hütter (born 1992), Austrian alpine skier
• Cornelia Lister (born 1994), Swedish tennis player
• Cornelia Jane Matthews Jordan (1830–1898), American poet, lyricist
• Cornelia "Corrie" Laddé (1915–1996), Dutch swimmer
• Cornelia Catharina de Lange (1871–1950), Dutch pediatrician
• Cornelia F. Maury (1866–1942), American pastel artist
• Cornelia van Marle (1661–1699), Dutch painter
• Cornelia van Meijgaard (1913–2010), Dutch actress, singer, and cabaretière known as "Conny Stuart"
• Cornelia van der Mijn (1709–1782), Dutch lower painter
• Cornelia "Cora" van Nieuwenhuizen (born 1963), Dutch politician, MEP
• Cornelia van Nijenroode (1629–c.1692), Dutch merchant in the Dutch East Indies
• Cornelia Alice Norris (1857–1935), American socialite and genealogist
• Cornelia "Keetie" van Oosten-Hage (born 1949), Dutch cyclist
• Cornelia Oschkenat (born 1961), East German hurdler
• Cornelia Parker (born 1956), British artist
• Cornelia Polit (born 1963), East German backstroke swimmer
• Cornelia "Conny" Pröll (born 1961), Austrian alpine skier
• Cornelia Holroyd Bradley Richards (1899-1892), American author
• Cornelia de Rijck (1653–1726), Dutch painter
• Cornelia Scheffer (1769–1839), Dutch painter and portrait miniaturist
• Cornélia Scheffer (1830-1899), French designer and sculptor, grand-daughter of the former
• Cornelia Schlosser (1750–1777), sister of Johann von Goethe
• Cornelia Otis Skinner (1899–1979), American actress, humorist, and playwright
• Cornelia Sollfrank (born 1960), German digital artist and early pioneer of Net Art and cyberfeminism
• Cornelia Laws St. John (died 1902), American poet
• Cornelia Strong (1877–1955), American mathematician and astronomer
• Cornelia Tăutu (1938–2019), Romanian composer
• Cornelia Toppen (1730–1800), Dutch Orangist and the instigator of the 1784 riots of Rotterdam
• Cornelia van der Veer (1639–?), Dutch poet
• W. Cornelia "Cornélie" van Zanten (1855–1946), Dutch opera singer, singing teacher and author

Fictional characters

• Cornelia Hale, the Guardian of Earth in the W.I.T.C.H. comics and TV series
• Blair Cornelia Waldorf, a fictional character in the TV-series Gossip Girl
• Cornelia li Britannia, a fictional character in the anime series Code Geass
• Cornelia, fictional character from the book and film Sune's Summer
• Cornelia Arnim, a royal mage and a major antagonist in Fire Emblem: Three Houses and Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes

See also

• Cornelia (disambiguation), for other uses of Cornelia

References