Given name & surname
Curtis
“one who is courteous; polite”
Curtis is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “one who is courteous; polite.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “one who is courteous; polite.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is English.
How it developed
It entered given-name use through an existing surname.
The story
Its naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Curtis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 262,876
- 260,554 boys · 2,322 girls
- Most popular year
- 1962
- 5,602 babies
- 2025
- 232
- #985 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −36%
- Cooling
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 232 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 985 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 36.3% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 5,569 in 1962. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 159,667 as a first name in 2020; 97,208 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.
Curtis’s family of names
In English usage, Curtis has a short form in Curt. In English usage, Curtis shares a linguistic root with the French form COURTOIS. In English usage, Curtis has a related form in Kurtis.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 9
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Kurtisvariant · English
- Curtissvariant · English
- Curtshort form · English
- Curticevariant
- Curttislikely variant
- Curtellvariant
- Curciovariant
- Curtyssvariant
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Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Curtis
- 50 CentAmerican rapper and actor (born 1975)
- Curtis MayfieldAmerican singer-songwriter (1942–1999)
- Curtis JonesEnglish association football player (born 2001)
- Curtis HansonAmerican filmmaker (1945–2016)
- Curtis DaviesEnglish association football playerborn 1985
- Curtis LeMayAmerican general and politician (1906–1990)
- Curtis T. McMullenAmerican mathematician and Fields medallistborn 1958
- Curtis YarvinAmerican far-right political theorist and computer scientistborn 1973
- Curtis ArmstrongAmerican actor, voice actor, and singer (born 1953)
Characters named Curtis: Curtis Manning (the television series 24).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Curtis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Nelson
“the son of Neil; the son of a champion”
99% boys · 1% girls
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Tanner
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Hunter
“a great huntress and provider” · “a great huntsman and provider”
93% boys · 7% girls
Walker
“walker of the forests” · “one who trods the cloth”
97% boys · 3% girls