Given name & surname
Cordell
“one who makes cord”
Cordell is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who makes cord.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who makes cord.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1903. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cordell through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,988
- 10,840 boys · 148 girls
- Most popular year
- 1998
- 387 babies
- 2025
- 77
- #1,977 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −18%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 77 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,977 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 18.2% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 387 in 1998. In 2025, Florida and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (8 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,482 as a first name in 2020; 8,592 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cordell’s family of names
Cordell has a related form in Cora. Cordell has a related form in Cordel. Cordell has a related form in Cordale.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Coravariant
- Cordaevariant
- Cordalevariant
- Cordaivariant
- Cordelvariant
- Cordellevariant
- Cordayvariant
- Corrdelllikely variant
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Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Cordell
- Cordell HullAmerican politician, U.S. Secretary of State from 1933 to 19441871–1955
- Cordell TinchAmerican athleteborn 2000
- Cordell CatoTrinidadian footballerborn 1992
- Cordell CleareAmerican politician and activistborn 2000
- Cordell MossonAmerican bass guitarist (1952-2013)
- Cordell JacksonAmerican guitarist (1923-2004)
- Cordell Barkeranimatorborn 1956
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Cordell, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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