Cortland
From an English location name, derived from words meaning "court land".
Name Census estimates that about 1,857 living Americans carry the first name Cortland. It is a predominantly male name (97.7% of registrations). The average person named Cortland today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cortland births was 2011 (62 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cortland. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 184,574 Americans
Peak year
2011
62 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,262
Tracked since 1913
Census
Cortland in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,651 people with the first name Cortland, which placed it at #8,710 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
#8,710
National first-name rank
People counted
1.7K
1,651 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
68.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cortland
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cortland is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (22.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Cortland 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 Cortland at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.1% · 1,124
- Black or African American22.6% · 373
- Two or more races4.8% · 79
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Gender
Gender distribution for Cortland
Cortland leans heavily male at 97.7% of total registrations, but 49 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Cortland as a male name
- Ranked #5,262 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2011 (62 births)
Cortland as a female name
- Ranked #15,746 in 2024
- 5 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cortland leans strongly male. 1,540 people counted with this name were male (93.2%), compared with 113 female bearers (6.8%).
Popularity
Cortland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cortland from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 510 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cortland 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 Cortland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cortlands live
The SSA's state-level files cover 11 states and territories. Texas, Tennessee, California recorded the most babies named Cortland, while Utah, Oregon, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cortland
The name Cortland has its origins in the Old English language, derived from the words "cort" meaning "court" and "land" meaning "land" or "estate." It was initially used as a surname in England during the medieval period, referring to someone who lived near or worked on a courtly estate.
In the late 16th century, the name Cortland began to be used as a given name, particularly among the English gentry and aristocracy. Its connection to the courtly life and landowning class made it a desirable name for parents who wanted to convey a sense of prestige and status.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Cortland as a first name can be found in the parish records of St. Mary's Church, Whitby, in Yorkshire, England, where a Cortland Smythe was baptized in 1598. Another notable early bearer of the name was Sir Cortland Whittington, a prominent English merchant and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London in the 17th century.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Cortland. These include Cortland Van Rensselaer (1808-1860), an American politician and member of the prominent Van Rensselaer family of New York. Cortland Skinner (1865-1934) was an American lawyer and author who served as the United States Assistant Attorney General during the Woodrow Wilson administration.
In the field of literature, Cortland Fitzsimmons (1886-1959) was an American poet and writer known for his works celebrating rural life and nature. Cortland Van Camp (1921-1994) was an American actor and playwright who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.
Another notable figure was Cortland Puddington (1932-2008), an American human rights activist and scholar who served as the executive director of Freedom House, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting democracy and freedom worldwide.
While the name Cortland was historically more prevalent in England and the United States, it has also been used in other English-speaking countries, though with varying degrees of popularity. Its unique blend of courtly and landed connotations has made it a distinctive choice for parents seeking a name with a sense of history and tradition.
People
Cortland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cortland 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
Cortland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cortland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,857 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cortland 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 184,574 US residents.
Is Cortland a common name?
We classify Cortland as "Rare". It ranks above 93.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,166 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cortland most popular?
The single biggest year for Cortland was 2011, when 62 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cortland is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cortland in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,651 people with the name Cortland, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,710 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 Cortland 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 Cortland?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cortland leans strongly male. 1,540 people counted with this name were male (93.2%), compared with 113 female bearers (6.8%). 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 Cortland?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cortland is White at 68.1%. The next largest groups are Black (22.6%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Cortland most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Cortland in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.1% (1,124 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 Cortland in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cortland a male name?
Yes, 97.7% of people registered as Cortland 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 Cortland still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cortland 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 Cortland 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 Americans are named Cortland?
You can see how many people have the name Cortland on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.