Given name & surname
Kurt
“a brave counselor”
Kurt is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “a brave counselor.”
Original GermanKonrad
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “a brave counselor.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In German usage, Kurt is a diminutive of Konrad. In German usage, Kurt is a short form of Konrad.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1894. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Kurt connects to the Curtis name family through Curt. The history of Curtis gives this family its wider story. Curtis’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Kurt through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 86,054
- 85,858 boys · 196 girls
- Most popular year
- 1964
- 3,168 babies
- 2025
- 62
- #2,271 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −31%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 62 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,271 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 30.8% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 3,158 in 1964. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 74,867 as a first name in 2020; 1,431 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.
Kurt’s family of names
In German usage, Kurt is a diminutive of Konrad. Kurt shares a linguistic root with Kort. Kurt has a related form in Conrad.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Kurt has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 7
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
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 Kurt
- Kurt CobainAmerican rock musician (1967–1994)
- Kurt VonnegutAmerican author (1922–2007)
- Kurt GödelAustrian-American logician, mathematician, and philosopher of mathematics (1906–1978)
- Kurt WaldheimAustrian politician and diplomat (1918–2007)
- Kurt Georg KiesingerChancellor of West Germany (1966–1969)1904–1988
- Kurt RussellAmerican actor (born 1951)
- Kurt AlderGerman chemist (1902–1958)
- Kurt von SchleicherGerman chancellor (1882-1934)
- Kurt WüthrichSwiss chemist (born 1938)
Characters named Kurt: Kurt Wallander (fictional character created by Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell), Kurt Hummel (the television series “Glee").
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Kurt, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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