Kornela
A Latin name at root, from cornu, "horn". Around 900 Polish women carry it and hardly any girls are given it now, so most Poles have never met one.
Kornela Pronunciation
Kornela is pronounced kor-NE-lah (/kɔrˈnɛla/).
What Kornela means
Where Kornela comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Kornela comes from Latin, from the Roman family name Cornelius, which traces back to the word for horn, róg in Polish. The gens Cornelia was one of ancient Rome's great houses, and its most remembered daughter, Cornelia Africana, raised the reforming brothers known as the Gracchi. The feminine line runs from there to the Polish Kornelia, and Kornela sits beside it as the shorter form.
The horn behind the name was once a real object, an animal's horn used as a signal or a drinking cup. Latin cornu spread cognates across Europe, and English still keeps it in the word "unicorn". Kornela holds that root without announcing it.
In a Polish class register the name settles between longer forms, while the diminutive Nela does the daily work. Kornela keeps its own weight though.
Nela among friends, Kornelia on a form at the urząd. The meaning underneath does not change: horn, róg.
How many people are named Kornela
1 in 25387 women in Poland is named Kornela. 888 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1007 among female names.
Kornela's popularity over time
Fewer than 2 girls were given the name in 2025. It has been falling steadily since 2000.
Kornela as a middle name
Kornela is a first name for 888 women in Poland and a middle name for another 406, a 69/31 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 342nd, between Helga (406) and Natalie (403).
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#340 Wanesa407
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#341 Helga406
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#342 Kornela406
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#343 Natalie403
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#344 Caroline401