Given name · also Celtic
Cordelia
“a good-hearted woman; a woman of honesty”
Cordelia is a Shakespearean name whose enduring story is clearer than its linguistic origin.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a good-hearted woman; a woman of honesty.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Celtic.
The story
Cordelia is the daughter who remains loyal to King Lear in Shakespeare’s tragedy. The play is its central literary association; a proposed link with Latin cor, “heart,” is an interpretation rather than a settled derivation.
Cordelia through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 12,906
- 0 boys · 12,906 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 286 babies
- 2025
- 258
- #981 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 258 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 981 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 0.1% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 286 in 2015. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (23). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,668 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cordelia’s family of names
In Cebuano usage, Cordelia has a diminutive in Deling. Cordelia has a related form in Cordie. Cordelia has a related form in Cordella.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Cordellialikely variant
- Cordellevariant
- Cordeyvariant
- Cordievariant
- Cordyvariant
- Cordiliavariant
- Cordellavariant
- Delingdiminutive · ceb
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Cordelia
- Cordelia FineCanadian-born British psychologist and writerborn 1975
- Cordelia EdvardsonGerman-born Swedish journalist, author and Holocaust survivor1929–2012
- Cordelia AgbebakuVice Chancellor in Nigeria1961–2017
- Cordelia Wilsonartist (1873-1953)
- Cordelia A. GreeneAmerican physician, health reformer, benefactor, suffragist (1831-1905)
- Cordelia UruetaMexican artist (1908-1995)1903–1995
- Cordelia RayAmerican political activist (1849–1916)
- Cordelia BugejaBritish actressborn 1976
Characters named Cordelia: Cordelia Chase (Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cordelia, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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—
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