Given name & surname
Cortez
“a courteous man”
Cortez is used as a given name and a surname. One Spanish interpretation is “a courteous man.”
Original SpanishCortés
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Spanish interpretation is “a courteous man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Spanish.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1882. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Cortez through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 10,988
- 10,899 boys · 89 girls
- Most popular year
- 1990
- 351 babies
- 2025
- 101
- #1,655 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −33%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 101 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,655 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 32.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 346 in 1990. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (12). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 7,237 as a first name in 2020; 95,625 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Cortez’s family of names
Cortez has a related form in Cortes. In English usage, Cortez as a surname has a related form in Cortes. In Kapampangan usage, Cortez as a surname has a related form in Cortés.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Cortez has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Spanish roots to each of them.
Spanishwhere Cortez comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Cortez, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Terrell
“one who is stubborn” · “a powerful man”
>99% boys
Marquis
“a lord of the borderlands; a nobleman”
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Jacques
“he who supplants” · “heel grabber”
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Quentin
“the fifth-born child”
>99% boys
Efrain
“one who is tertile; productive” · “fruitful”
>99% boys
Fernandez
Fernandez is a surname from Spanish. It is used in English, Tagalog, and Old Galician-Portuguese.
>99% boys
Torrez
Torrez is a surname from Spanish.
>99% boys
Deonte
“an outgoing man”
>99% boys