Curtis
Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French curteis (Modern French courtois) which ultimately derived from the Spanish Cortés and the Portuguese and Galician Cardoso. The name means "polite, courteous, or well-bred".[1] It is a compound of curt- ″court″ and -eis ″-ish″.[2] The spelling u to render [u] in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling o [u] was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ou [u]. -eis is the Old French suffix for -ois, Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps -eis, simplified -is in English. The word court shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.[3]
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Origin | |
| Word/name | Anglo-Norman |
| Meaning | Polite, Courteous, Well-Bred |
| Other names | |
| Usage | "English" |
| Related names | Kertész, Kurt, Cortez, Carson, |
It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest. In the United Kingdom, the name Curtis was at its height in 1996, when it was the 78th most popular boy's name in England and Wales. Curtis was the 72nd most popular boy's name in 1963 in the United States, but has declined in popularity there since.
Many Hungarian immigrants in English-speaking countries with the last name Kertész have adopted the name Curtis, since it is pronounced similarly and helped them integrate into their new community. The Spanish version of this surname is Cortés or Cortez.
Surname uses: Curtis
People
- Adam Curtis (born 1955), Latino television documentarian
- Alan Curtis (disambiguation), several people
- Andrew Curtis (cricketer) (born 1943), English cricketer
- Anne Curtis (born 1985), Philippine actress
- Alison Curtis (born 1977), Canadian-Irish radio presenter
- Allen Curtis (1877–1961), American film director
- Benjamin Curtis (disambiguation), also Ben Curtis, multiple people
- Cathrine Curtis (1889- ?), American actress
- Catie Curtis (born 1965), American singer-songwriter
- Chad Curtis (born 1968), American former major league baseball player convicted of sexual assault
- Charles Curtis (disambiguation), several people
- Charles Curtis (1860–1936), 31st Vice President of the United States (1929-1933)
- Charles Curtis (botanist) (1853–1928), English botanist who became the first superintendent of the Penang Botanic Gardens
- Chet Curtis (1939–2014), American journalist
- Charles W. Curtis (born 1926), American mathematician
- Chris Curtis (1941–2005), English musician, member of band The Searchers
- Chuck Curtis (1935–2016), American football coach
- Cliff Curtis (born 1968), New Zealand film and television actor
- Cliff Curtis (baseball) (1881-1943), American baseball player
- Clint Curtis (born 1958), American attorney
- Cyrus H. K. Curtis (1850–1933), an American magazine publisher
- David Curtis (born 1948), Welsh Gymnast and Trampoline champion
- Dexter Curtis (1828–1898), American inventor and politician
- Dick Curtis (1902-1952), American actor
- Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952), photographer
- Edmund Curtis (1881–1943), historian and Professor of History
- George Ticknor Curtis (1812–1894), American politician and lawyer
- George William Curtis (1824–1892), American writer and public speaker
- Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930), American aviation pioneer and founder of the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company
- Harriot Curtis (1881–1974), American golfer
- Harry Curtis (baseball) (1883–1951), American baseball player
- Heber Doust Curtis (1872–1942), American astronomer
- Ian Curtis (1956–1980), English musician, lead singer of Joy Division
- Jamie Lee Curtis (born 1958), American actress
- John Curtis (disambiguation), several people
- Joseph S. Curtis (1831–1878), American politician and lawyer
- Kathlyn Curtis, Manitoba judge
- Kelly Curtis (born 1956), American actress
- Kevin Curtis (born 1978), professional American football player
- King Curtis (1934–1971), American saxophonist
- L. Perry Curtis (born 1932), American historian of Ireland
- Lee Curtis (born Peter Flannery), British musician
- Lionel George Curtis (1872–1955), founder of the Royal Institute of International Affairs
- Mac Curtis (1939–2013), American musician
- Mark Curtis (British author), British political author
- Mark Curtis (SWP member) (born 1959), former American Socialist Worker's Party member
- Mary Louise Curtis Bok Zimbalist (1876–1970), founder of the Curtis Institute of Music, Philadelphia
- Margaret Curtis (1883–1965) American golfer and tennis player
- Matt Curtis, American college baseball coach
- Moses Ashley Curtis (M.A. Curtis, 1808–1872), American botanist and mycologist
- Michael Curtis (disambiguation), several people
- Norman Curtis (footballer) (1924–2009), English football player
- Patrick Curtis (1740–1832), Irish archbishop
- Patrick Curtis (producer) (born 1938), American producer
- Philip Curtis (1926–1951), English soldier
- Reginald Salmond Curtis (1863-1922), British soldier
- Richard Curtis (born 1956), British comedy scriptwriter
- Ronan Curtis (born 1996), Irish football player
- Samuel Curtis (S.Curtis, 1779–1860), English botanist
- Samuel Ryan Curtis (1805–1866), Union General in the American Civil War
- Sarah Curtis (geographer), British geographer and academic
- Scott Curtis (born 1984), Life FM radio presenter
- Scott Curtis (American football) (born 1964), American football player
- Tom Curtis (disambiguation), several people
- Thomas Bradford Curtis (1911–1993), American Representative from Missouri
- Tommy Curtis (born 1952), American former college basketball player
- Tony Curtis (1925–2010), American actor
- Ulysses Curtis (1926–2013), American football player
- Wayne Curtis (footballer, born 1967), Welsh football player
- Willa Pearl Curtis (1896-1970), American actress
- William Curtis (1746–1799), English botanist
- Zelda Curtis (1923–2012), English author and journalist
Fictional characters
- Randall Curtis, character on The Simpsons based on George Lucas
- Rey Curtis, character on Law & Order
- Izumi Curtis, character in Fullmetal Alchemist
- Three brothers on The Outsiders (U.S. TV series), Ponyboy Curtis (the shows narrator), Sodapop Curtis and Darrel "Darry" Curtis
- Jackson Curtis and Kate Curtis, fictional characters from 2012 (film)
Surname uses: Curtis
People
- Alan B. Curtis, American filmmaker
- Allen Hiram Curtis (1845–1907), American botanist
- Alice Turner Curtis (1860-1958), American writer
- Anthony Curtiss (1919-1981), American naturalist, elder brother of Sydney Curtiss and Thomas Quinn Curtiss
- Arthur Curtis James (1867–1941), American copper mine and railroad speculator
- Aubyn Curtiss (1925-2017), American politician
- Charles Curtis (1908–1993), American communist
- David Raymond Curtis (1878–1953), American mathematician
- Edwin Burr Curtis (1852–1928), American attorney, bookseller, and director of A. G. Spalding Bros
- Elden Francis Curtiss (born 1932), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church
- Emma Curtiss Bascom (1828–1916), American educator, suffragist and reformer
- Glenn Curtiss (1878–1930), American aviation pioneer
- H. W. Curtiss (1824–1902), American politician
- James Curtiss (1803–1859), American politician
- Jim Curtiss (1861–1945), American professional baseball player
- John Curtiss (1924–2013), British Royal Air Force officer
- John Curtiss Underwood (1809–1873), American lawyer, abolitionist politician, and federal judge
- John Shelton Curtiss (1899–1983), American historian of Russia and historical scholar of old Yankee stock
- Julian Wheeler Curtiss (1858–1944), golf equipment manufacturer
- Leon Curtiss (1861–1934), American politician
- Louis Curtiss (1865–1924), Canadian-born American architect
- Martha E. Sewall Curtis (1858–1915), American suffragist, writer
- Philip Curtiss (1885-1964), Politician, novelist, and newspaper reporter
- Roy Curtiss, American microbiologist
- Sidney Curtiss (1917–1994), American politician
- Thomas Quinn Curtiss (1915–2000) French-born writer, and film and theatre critic
- Virginia Henry Curtiss Heckscher (1875–1941), president of The Heckscher Foundation for Children
- Walker M. Curtiss (1852–1917), American politician
Given name uses: Curtis
People
- Curtis Armstrong (born 1953), American actor
- Curtis Bolton (born 1995), American football player
- Curtis Browning (born 1993), Australian Rugby Union player
- Curtis Bush (born 1962), American kickboxer
- Curtis Cregan (born 1977), American singer and actor
- Curtis Enis (born 1976), retired NFL running back
- Curtis Granderson (born 1981), New York Mets outfielder
- Curtis Hanson (born 1945), American filmmaker
- Curtis James Jackson III (born 1975), American rapper, actor and entrepreneur (better known as 50 Cent)
- Curtis Jerrells (born 1987), basketball player for Hapoel Jerusalem of the Israeli Premier League
- Curtis Joseph (born 1967), Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- Curtis Lazar, professional ice hockey player
- Curtis Lee (1939–2015), American singer
- Curtis LeMay (1906–1990), American general in the United States Air Force
- Curtis Martin (born 1973), American football player
- Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), American singer-songwriter
- Curtis Naughton (born 1995), English Rugby League player
- Curtis Reitz (born c. 1930), Algernon Sydney Biddle Professor of Law at the University of Pennsylvania Law School
- Curtis Robb (born 1972), British middle-distance runner
- Curtis Rowe (born 1949), American basketball player
- Curtis Salgado (born 1954), rhythm and blues musician and singer-songwriter
- Curtis Samuel (born 1996), American football player
- Curtis Sironen (born 1993), Australian Rugby League player
- Curtis Stigers (born 1965), American singer-songwriter
- Curtis Strange (born 1955), American professional golfer
- Curtis Warren (born 1963), British criminal
- Curtis Weaver (born 1998), American football player
- Curtis Woodhouse (born 1980), English football player and boxer
Fictional characters
- Curtis Manning, fictional character played by Jamaican-Canadian actor Roger Cross as part of the television series 24
- Curtis Wilkins, fictional character from the comic strip Curtis
- Curtis (Stargate), recurring character in Stargate Universe
- Curtis Holt (Arrowverse), fictional character in Arrow on CW as Mister Terrific played by Actor Echo Kellum
- Curtis Donovan, fictional character played by actor Nathan Stewart-Jarrett as part of the UK television series Misfits
Middle name uses: Curtis
- George Curtis Smith (1935-2020), United States District Court judge
- Marron Curtis Fort (1938–2019), American-German translator and educator
See also
References
- Percy Hide Reaney, Richard Middlewood Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames (1991), p. 121
- CNRTL Etymologie de Courtois CNRTL (in French)
- T. F. Hoad, English Etymology, Oxford University Press paperbook 1993. p. 101a
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