Cordero
A masculine Spanish name meaning "lamb" or "young sheep".
Name Census estimates that about 1,753 living Americans carry the first name Cordero. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Cordero today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cordero births was 1987 (349 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cordero. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 195,524 Americans
Peak year
1987
349 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,219
Tracked since 1986
Census
Cordero in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,323 people with the first name Cordero, which placed it at #10,173 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,173
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,323 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
67.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cordero
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cordero is Black at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.8%) and White (7.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cordero described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cordero at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American67.2% · 889
- Hispanic or Latino21.8% · 289
- White7.0% · 92
- Two or more races3.0% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
Gender
Gender distribution for Cordero
Out of the 1,804 babies given the name Cordero since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Cordero as a male name
- Ranked #6,219 in 2024
- 14 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1987 (340 births)
Cordero as a female name
- Ranked #7,502 in 1987
- 9 female births in 1987
- Peak: 1987 (9 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cordero leans strongly male. 1,313 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 18 female bearers (1.4%).
Popularity
Cordero: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cordero from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 900 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cordero by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cordero during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Corderos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 20 states and territories. Illinois, Texas, California recorded the most babies named Cordero, while New Jersey, Arizona, New Mexico recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cordero
Cordero is a given name with origins in the Spanish and Portuguese languages. It derives from the Latin word "cordarius," which means "of or pertaining to a lamb." The name's earliest roots can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula during the Roman era.
In Spanish, "cordero" directly translates to "lamb," a reference to the young sheep. This connection to lambs likely stems from ancient pastoral societies where sheep were a crucial part of daily life. The name may have been initially bestowed upon children born into shepherding families or communities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Cordero can be found in the 13th-century Spanish epic poem, Cantar de Mio Cid. The poem mentions a character named Cordero, though little is known about their historical significance.
During the Middle Ages, the name Cordero appeared in various Spanish and Portuguese historical records, often associated with religious figures or individuals from noble families. For example, Cordero de Burgos was a 15th-century Spanish prelate who served as the Bishop of Palencia.
In the 16th century, Cordero de Negreiros was a Portuguese explorer and navigator who participated in the exploration of the Brazilian coast. He was born around 1490 and is known for mapping parts of the South American coastline.
Another notable figure was Cordero del Campillo, a Spanish Catholic priest and historian born in 1627. He authored several works on the history of the Catholic Church in Spain and served as the Bishop of Malaga.
In the 19th century, Cordero Delgado was a Peruvian politician and lawyer who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence from Spain. He was born in 1794 and served as the President of Peru from 1834 to 1835.
Cordero Piñeyro, born in 1856, was a Cuban painter and sculptor known for his works depicting scenes from rural life in Cuba. His paintings and sculptures are considered important representations of Cuban culture and identity.
While the name Cordero has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula, it has since spread to various Spanish-speaking regions and cultures, particularly in Latin America. The name's association with lambs and its biblical connotations have contributed to its enduring use over centuries.
People
Cordero + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cordero as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cordero: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cordero?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,753 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cordero going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 195,524 US residents.
Is Cordero a common name?
We classify Cordero as "Rare". It ranks above 93.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,804 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cordero most popular?
The single biggest year for Cordero was 1987, when 349 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cordero is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cordero in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,323 people with the name Cordero, or 0.44 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,173 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cordero in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cordero?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cordero leans strongly male. 1,313 people counted with this name were male (98.6%), compared with 18 female bearers (1.4%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cordero?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cordero is Black at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.8%) and White (7.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cordero most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Cordero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.2% (889 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cordero in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cordero a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Cordero in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cordero still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cordero in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cordero can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Cordero?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.