Curtis
Feminine · “courteous”
Curtis is given to boys far more often — 260,554 boys against 2,322 girls since 1880. See Curtis as a boy name
Curtis is a surname that arrived by two roads, and they do not agree about the man they were describing. One is curteis, courteous, a compliment about manners. The other is curt hose, short stockings, a joke about the length of a man's legs. Both are documented, and no living Curtis can tell which one his family took.
How old is the name Curtis?
Curtis first appears in US birth records in 1894 — 131 years ago. The typical Curtis alive today was born around 1951, making them about 74 years old. About 1,300 people named Curtis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Curtis most popular?
Curtis peaked in 1902, reaching #1075 nationally. See the whole 1902 chart.
Where it comes from
From curteis to Curtis
The story of Curtis
The mocking sense has a famous bearer. Robert Curthose was the eldest son of William the Conqueror, and the nickname came from the shortness of his legs, which nobody around him let him forget. He inherited Normandy but not England, spent decades at war with his own brothers, went on the First Crusade and by all accounts fought well there, came home, and lost everything at Tinchebray in 1106 to his youngest brother. He was then held prisoner for the twenty-eight years that remained of his life, outliving the brother who captured him. Every chronicle that mentions him uses the nickname, so a jibe about a man's trousers became the name history filed him under, and one branch of the modern surname descends from exactly that kind of joke.
Meaningscholars disagree
courteous, or short in the leg
The commoner derivation is from Anglo-Norman curteis, refined or well-mannered. The second, less common but well attested, is a nickname from Old French for short hose. Surname scholarship records both and cannot separate the families that carry each.
How the name formed
- curteis
- Curtis
- Kurtis
Related forms: Courtois
Pronouncing Curtis
KUR-tiss
Two syllables with the stress at the front and no ambiguity anywhere in it. The spelling and the sound agree completely, which is rarer than it sounds.
Nicknames for Curtis
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
- 1894
- Most girls named
- 195752 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1075reached in 1902
- Change vs 1994
- 0.0%5 in 2000, from 5
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.
Curtis in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Courtois in French — related form
Curtiss among us
people named Curtis 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
Curtis 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
- It has held a continuous place in American use since records began, without ever being faddish.
- The spelling is unambiguous and never needs repeating.
- Curt is a ready short form that arrives without being invented.
- Its peak generation is close enough to give the name a clear age to most ears.
- Curt as an ordinary English word means brusque, which is not the association most parents want.
- The record holds girls as well, and the girl is now much the smaller side.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Curtis to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Curtis? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Curtis
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Curtiss are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,300 people named Curtis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Curtis in 2025?
- Curtis is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Curtis with classmates?
- Curtis 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 Curtis? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Curtis and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle