Cortnee
Feminine · “A spelling of Courtney”
Cortnee is Courtney written the way it sounds, without the u that English kept from French. Its first syllable is shared with the Cortland, the New York apple that does not turn brown when you cut it.
How old is the name Cortnee?
Cortnee first appears in US birth records in 1975 — 50 years ago. The typical Cortnee alive today was born around 1991, making them about 34 years old. About 600 people named Cortnee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Cortnee most popular?
Cortnee peaked in 1991, reaching #2703 nationally. See the whole 1991 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Courtenay to Cortnee
The story of Cortnee
English words like court and course kept the ou of their French spelling long after English stopped saying it the French way, and Courtney kept it too; Cortnee lets it go and writes what English actually says. The Cortland apple, bred at the New York agricultural station in Geneva in 1898 and named after Cortland County, is prized because its white flesh is slow to brown, which makes it a favorite for salads. Cortnee is one of the many spellings American families used for Courtney.
Meaning
A spelling of Courtney, from a French place name
Courtney comes from the Norman place Courtenay. Cortnee is a spelling by sound.
How the name formed
- Courtenay
- Courtney
- Cortnee
Related forms: Courtenay · Courtney
Pronouncing Cortnee
KORT-nee
Two syllables with the stress on the first.
Nicknames for Cortnee
Limited
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1975
- Most girls named
- 199144 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #2703reached in 1991
- Change vs 2008
- +14.3%8 in 2009, from 7
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Cortnee in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Courtenay in French — related form
- Courtney in English — spelling variant
Cortnees among us
people named Cortnee are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Cortnee sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Sounds exactly like Courtney.
- Spelled the way it sounds.
- Distinct on paper.
- Almost everyone will write Courtney.
- Some will read the spelling as a mistake.
- It is closely tied to its era.
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Cortnee
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Cortnees are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 600 people named Cortnee are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Cortnee in 2025?
- Cortnee is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Cortnee with classmates?
- Cortnee will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Carol#2239 · Cynthia#1013 · Catherine#313 · Christine#1272 · Carolyn#1222 · Christina#770 · Charlotte#2 · Cheryl#4352
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Cortnee? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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