Courage
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Meaning
“English virtue name from courage, the strength to act despite fear; the word came through French from Latin cor, heart”
The story
Courage is a rare English virtue name taken directly from the ordinary word. Courage means the strength to act despite fear, not the absence of fear. The English word came through Old French corage from a Latin family built on cor, heart, which explains the old idea of courage as the condition or spirit of the heart. As a given name it belongs to the same broad tradition as Grace, Hope, Patience, and Justice, though it remains far less common and can be used for more than one gender. Courage does not register on this site’s American popularity curve, so the chart cannot claim a movement. Its use is easier to encounter in several African English-speaking communities than US data suggests. The name makes a value explicit while carrying a surprisingly old linguistic heart inside a modern personal choice.
How popular is Courage around the world?
In the United States, 86 babies were named Courage between 2020 and 2025.
Courage is on the official records of the United States and Spain.
United States
1 in 250,000
In the United States, 86 babies were named Courage between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Courage has stayed rare in US records the whole time: no peak decade to name.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Spain
1 in 2.1M
In Spain, 21 residents are named Courage, ranked 28,949th among men, with a mean age of 32.4 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Canada
last on record 2019
Courage is not on the 2024 record for Canada, where names under 5 in a year are excluded at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
England and Wales
last on record 2008
Courage is not on the 2025 record for England and Wales, where spellings under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
South Australia
last on record 2000
Courage is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Not on 12 other recordsWhy
- Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
- Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
- Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years.
- Not on the France record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 20 births in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
- Not on the Austria record for 1984 to 2025: Statistik Austria publishes every first name down to a single birth, so this name was not given there in those years (before 2010 the record covers babies with Austrian citizenship only).
- Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Courage
Most people given the name Courage in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
What do you think of Courage?
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Keep exploring
The Courage deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Courage truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Courage fits with your family’s names and surname.
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