Curt
Masculine · “courteous”
Curt has two parents in different languages: the English Curtis, from a French word meaning courteous, and the German Kurt, which is a contraction of Konrad. Both were in American use.
How old is the name Curt?
Curt was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Curt alive today was born around 1963, making them about 62 years old. About 13,000 people named Curt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Curt most popular?
Curt peaked in 1960, reaching #292 nationally. See the whole 1960 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From curteis to Curt
The story of Curt
Curteis was a Norman byname for someone with courtly manners and became the English surname Curtis, which crossed into given-name use in the nineteenth century. Separately, German emigration brought Kurt to America, where the c-spelling was the naturalized form. Curt appears in American registers in real numbers from the 1930s and peaked in the mid-1960s.
Meaningscholars disagree
courteous; bold counsel
Through Curtis, from the Old French curteis, 'courteous' — literally 'of the court', from which the whole idea of courtesy takes its name. Through the German Kurt, it is a contraction of Konrad: the Germanic kuoni, 'bold', and rat, 'counsel'. The two are unrelated and the spelling does not choose.
How the name formed
- curteis
- Curtis
- Curt
Related forms: Kurt · Curtis · Konrad
Pronouncing Curt
KURT
One syllable. Curt and Kurt are homophones; only the spelling distinguishes them.
Nicknames for Curt
Moderate
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1960720 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #292reached in 1960
- Change vs 2021
- −10.0%9 in 2024, from 10
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.
Curt in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Kurt in German — spelling variant
- Curtis in English — related form
- Konrad in German — related form
Curts among us
people named Curt 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
Curt has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Two quite different formal names stand behind it, one French and one German.
- One syllable, crisp, and never mispronounced.
- Curtis and Konrad are both available as formal options.
- It is an ordinary English adjective meaning brusque, which is an unfortunate coincidence.
- Kurt is the commoner spelling in many contexts and the two are indistinguishable in speech.
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Curt
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Curts are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 13,000 people named Curt are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Curt in 2025?
- Curt is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Curt with classmates?
- Curt will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More C names
The most-given names starting with C, all years combined.
Charles#48 · Christopher#68 · Carl#1132 · Christian#96 · Caleb#58 · Cameron#76 · Carlos#150 · Clarence#1499
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Curt? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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